SHILLONG: The Mawryngkneng PHC was not made operational three years after its construction since a transformer was not installed.
The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said that failure of the Health Engineering Wing to make provision for transformer in its estimate and delay in requesting Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited for installing transformer for the Mawryngkneng PHC had not only rendered the expenditure of Rs 1.00 crore incurred on the construction of PHC unfruitful but the objective to operate from the renovated and extended PHC remained unfulfilled even after three years of the building being completed.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had approved the work for renovation and extension of Mawryngkneng PHC for Rs 1 crore with initial installment of Rs 0.50 crore for 2012-13 and another Rs 0.50 crore for 2013-14 under the National Rural Health Mission State Programme Implementation Plans 2012-13 and 2013-14.
The reason stated for taking up the work was because the existing PHC at Mawryngkneng had become old and some portion of the land in front of the PHC including a portion of the main building would fall on the proposed National Highway.
Notice Inviting Tender for the work was invited in August 2012 by the Department and the work order was issued in October 2012 to the lowest bidder.
The work was completed in November 2013 at an expenditure of Rs 1 crore.
The CAG said hat scrutiny (October-November 2016) of records of the Executive Engineer, Health Engineering Wing (EE-HEW), Meghalaya revealed that even though the building was completed in November 2013, the newly constructed PHC building had not been made functional as the load capacity of electricity presently supplied was not capable of catering to the load requirement of the new building and a separate transformer was needed for the whole complex.
Further scrutiny revealed that the estimate for the work did not have the provision for providing transformer to meet the electrical load of the newly renovated PHC and its complex.
It was only 16 months after the construction was completed that the EE- HEW (DHS), Meghalaya requested in April 2015 the Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL) for installation of transformer for the PHC.
During the joint physical verification of the Mawryngkneng PHC conducted on November 25, 2016 by the officers of HEW and the Audit team, it was seen that the transformer was not installed and electrical supply line had not been provided, resulting in the completed PHC building lying idle even after three years of its completion.
The matter was reported to the Government in December 2016, but reply was awaited.
