Lucknow: In a major embarrassment for the Uttar Pradesh government, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has punched many holes in the much-hyped 2013 Maha Kumbh in Allahabad.
The state government, which has been tom-toming its “great managerial skills” in organising the biggest religious congregation on the Earth, is on the backfoot as the audit has revealed many administrative oversights, financial irregularities and misappropriation of funds granted by the union government for the event.
The CAG report, tabled Tuesday in the Vidhan Sabha during its ongoing budget session makes some serious and glaring revelations.
The voluminous and facts-backed report indicts the Akhilesh Yadav-led government for permitting 81 unauthorised construction works on the sprawling 58 square kilometre Kumbh Mela site on the banks of the holy trinity of rivers — the Ganga, the Yamuna and the celestial Saraswati — in Allahabad earlier last year.
“Of the 111 construction works that took place, as many as 81 were not technically authorised,” the report notes. Of the funds clearly earmarked for the Kumbh, Rs.8.27 crore was spent on construction of two “ghats”, which were not part of the Kumbh Mela blueprint of works.
The report goes on to point out that the state government not only spent most of the central grants in organising the event but also utilised almost nothing from its own coffers despite earmarking Rs.1,152 crore for the 55-day-long religious congregation, which saw devouts from all over the world trooping into Allahabad.
While both Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Urban Development Minister Mohd. Azam Khan, the minister-in-charge of the religious do, on several occasions have spoken of the “huge amounts of funds” allocated by the Samajwadi Party (SP) government for the Kumbh, the CAG report shows the state only spent Rs.134.83 crore from its kitty.
The financial irregularities of the SP government did not end there. Of the Rs.1,141.63 crore received from the union government, the state government spent only Rs.1,017 crore. Of that, the state government utilised Rs.800 crore for meeting its own expenses!
The report also raises serious questions on the security arrangements in the Kumbh, which witnessed a footfall of millions.
According to findings of the auditor, none of the 85 close circuit television cameras (CCTVs) installed at various vantage positions were connected to the control room. This seriously compromised on the security and safety of millions who attended the event. (IANS)
