CAG finds serious lapses in Karnataka housing board work

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (Civil) for 2002-03 indicates serious lapses in the working of the Karnataka government's housing department.

These lapses and irregularities have been found in the construction of houses for slum dwellers in Bangalore city involving Rs 17.57 crore, besides non-achievement of objectives.

The Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) took up construction of only 4,218 of the 30,000 houses entrusted to it by the state government in June 1991.

For this work it incurred an expenditure of Rs 17.57 crore at a cost of Rs 60,000 per house. The balance of 25,782 houses had not been taken up despite the lapse of more than a decade.

Even though only around a seventh of the houses were constructed, there was laxity in allotment also. Only 1,287 of the 4,218 houses were allotted. This resulted in a recovery of Rs 47.92 lakh from 1,223 allottees, leading to non-recovery of Rs 3.46 lakh from 64 beneficiaries.

"A test-check of records revealed unfruitful expenditure of Rs 4.15 crore on incomplete houses. Incorrect fixation of unit cost and inadequate provision of funds caused stoppage of work for nearly five years in the Lingarajapuram slum area," the report said.

KHB delayed the supply of steel and cement to the agency which was entrusted the work of constructing 684 houses in one slum area of Lingarajapuram. The agency stopped work in September 1999 when an expenditure of Rs 4.15 crore had already been incurred.

"KHB stated that the site consisted of tank bed resulting in huge expenditure on foundation and assessed cost per house at Rs 82,000 and approached the state government in April 2001 for an additional subsidy of Rs 1.45 crore." These funds never came, resulting in a stoppage of work.

There was also an infructuous expenditure of Rs 52 lakh on abandoned work in the construction of 920 houses in the Laggere slum area belonging to Karnataka State Slum Clearance Board.

The key reason for the abandonment of work was due to non-fulfillment of conditions for availing the loan from Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco).

The report also identified 333 houses in six slum areas (Gavipuram, Ambedkar Slum, Ulsoor, Murphy Town, North Block Rajajinagar, Gurppa Garden and J C Road), constructed at a cost of Rs 2.04 crore, which had been occupied by unauthorised persons.

"KHB had not initiated any action for their eviction, thereby denying benefit of rehabilitation to identified beneficiaries. Details as to when and the circumstances in which the unauthorised persons took possession of these houses were not furnished for the audit," the report added.

In another six slum areas (Thimmaiah Road, Sultan Palya, Jayanagar, Austin Town, Urs Colony, Tilaknagar, Old Cement Lane) 445 houses, which were completed in November 1995, had not been allotted even after nearly eight years.

"While the list of beneficiaries for the 418 houses was still under finalisation, no reasons had been furnished for not allotting the remaining 27 houses," the report said.