Thaindian News

Shimla, April 14 (IANS) The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has asked the Himachal Pradesh government to fix financial liabilities on officers of state-run electricity board for heavy cost and time overruns in setting up a hydropower project in the state - delayed for over ten years.

The national auditor has also taken serious note of lack of action against the erring officials by the government for wasting hundreds of crores of rupees of public money in the 126 MW Larji project on the Beas river in Mandi district, completed after a delay of 125 months.

The CAG has recommended action against the officers, besides recovery of interest on Rs.5.83 crore paid to the contractors. It suggested imposition of a penalty of Rs.1.54 crore on the officers responsible for the mess.

“It (the project) was completed at a cost of Rs.1,293.69 crore against the estimated cost of Rs.168.85 crore,” said the report, tabled in the state assembly last week.

It said the envisaged per unit and per mega watt costs of 24.47 paise and Rs.1.34 crore increased to Rs.2.40 and Rs.10.27 crore respectively, which was perhaps the highest ever spent on a run-of the river project.

The project was approved by the Planning Commission in 1987 at a cost of Rs.168.85 crore. The actual work started in 1990-91 with a completion schedule of September 1996. But the project was also completed after a delay of 10 years.

The reasons for cost overruns were delay in taking up construction works, change of design, overpayment to favourite contractors, mismatch in construction activities of civil and electro-mechanical and high rates.