By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 30: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has rapped the Department of Fisheries for an “idle expenditure” of Rs 1.44 crore due to the injudicious selection of the site for setting up a modern and hygienic fish market at Nongpoh’s Saiden village, leading to its non-utilisation even after more than three years of completion.
The National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare approved Rs 1.65 crore under NFDB 2015-16 for the construction of the said market with a fund-sharing ratio of 55:45 between the NFDB and the Meghalaya government.
The project included the construction of a proper fish market building, fencing, approach road (MBT) to the fish market, rainwater harvesting, installation of an 11KV transformer, and the purchase of 22 deep freezers and two plastic water storage tanks.
The land for the construction of the fish market at Saiden measuring 2,902.50 sqm was donated by the Dorbar Shnong, Saiden. As per the deed of agreement executed between the Dorbar Shnong and the Department of Fisheries, the fish market, on completion, was to be handed over to the Dorbar Shnong, which would be solely responsible for its operational expenses and maintenance.
Scrutiny of records of the Directorate of Fisheries (DoF) and Superintendent of Fisheries, Ri-Bhoi (SoF-RB) showed that the NFDB’s share of Rs 90.68 lakh was released as a subsidy to the DoF in three instalments between December 2015 and March 2018, while the state share of Rs 74.19 lakh was released in two instalments (March 2017 and March 2019).
Out of the total fund of Rs 1.65 crore, the DoF released Rs 1.44 crore to the SOF-RB, which carried out the work departmentally. The SOF-RB completed the work at a total expenditure of Rs 1.44 crore.
The fish market was inaugurated on August 17, 2018, but was handed over to the Executive Committee of the Dorbar Shnong on July 12, 2019. Reasons for the almost one-year delay in handing over the market complex to the Dorbar Shnong, according to the MoA, were not available on record.
The department further stated that the delay in handing over the market complex to the Dorbar Shnong was on account of a delay in the installation of a transformer and water pump.
The audit agency observed that in less than eight months of operation, the headman of Saiden reported that they could not continue the management of the market complex and had completely stopped operations because shopkeepers were frustrated by poor business owing to a low volume of customers.
While reporting the above, the Executive Committee sought permission from the Department of Fisheries to allow the selling of other items such as meat, vegetables, and fruits to attract multiple consumers at least during the initial stage of operation. The permission for the same was granted by the department on May 19, 2020. However, the fish market remained non-operational.
The Meghalaya government then decided to invite an expression of interest (EoI) for leasing out the fish market. Accordingly, the DoF, through the director of the state’s Information and Public Relations publicised (September 2021 and December 2021) the Eol.
The publicity evoked no response. Thus, the idea of leasing out the fish market proved unsuccessful.
To ascertain the actual location and the physical status of the assets, a joint physical verification (JPV) was conducted by the audit team and the SoF-RB.
The audit team observed that the market building was constructed 6.2 km away from the Nongpoh market. The facilities/assets created such as the main building comprising 22 stalls, filter tank for liquid waste, deep tube-well, DG set, 22 deep freezers, and transformer were lying idle, it found.
According to the report, the facts suggest that no feasibility study was conducted before deciding on the site for the construction of the modern fish market.
“Thus, the construction of the market at Saiden… without any feasibility study has resulted in low footfall at the fish market and the market remained unutilised even after the passage of more than three years from the date of its completion. This resulted in an idle expenditure of Rs 1.44 crore besides defeating the main objective of providing a modern and hygienic market for fish farmers to market their produce.
On this being pointed out, the director of Fisheries stated that the site was approved because the existing market did not have space to house a modern hygienic market, the land was provided free of cost, and the location, only 200 meters from the Guwahati-Shillong National Highway, seemed technically ideal in terms of logistics.
The DoF further said that the joint survey and spot inspection between the officials of the Department of Fisheries and NFDB was conducted on October 15, 2015, adding that the feasibility of the project was reviewed with the stakeholders (Saiden Dorbar) and the fish farmers of the Ri-Bhoi district.
However, the director failed to furnish any recorded evidence of the joint survey, spot inspection or review meetings with stakeholders. Further, the initial reply of the DoF suggested that no feasibility study was conducted by the department and the acquisition of the land for free was the only criteria for the selection of the site for the construction of a modern fish market.