The Geological Survey of India (GSI), the government’s apex survey and mineral exploration agency, has come in for a lot of flak from the Ministry of Mines for delays in filing reports and timely procurement of equipment along with lack of monitoring of its Plan expenditure.
Mining Secretary Santha Sheela Nair has slammed GSI for being “terribly weak in areas of planning and programming, management and monitoring and policy formulation and execution”.
GSI, which is under the mines ministry, is crucial for the development of the country’s mining sector.
In a strongly-worded letter addressed to the Director General of GSI, N K Dutta, Nair has directed GSI to treat the delay in finalising the reports “as a complete act of misconduct and lack of devotion to duty”.
When contacted, a senior official from the ministry, who did not wish to be identified, said the basic intent of the letter was to make things transparent. “The intention is to prompt them into definitive action. It is a means of forcing them to perform better. You might have huge responsibility on your shoulders but if your administrative machinery is so entangled and proper financial planning is absent, how will you function?” asked the official.
GSI has not been filing routine reports on the progress of its geo-sciences programmes required to be approved by the ministry. “Their reporting is not prompt. The intention is to make their routine work more efficient. That discipline has to be strengthened,” the official said.
When contacted, an official from GSI did not comment on the allegations, but added, “Our strength is mapping, survey and exploration of minerals. And we want to excel in our field.”
The letter further accuses GSI of negligent financial planning done to procure machinery and equipment. “I get the impression that the financial planning have not been properly thought through keeping in view realistic timelines for achievement of milestones,” Nair has noted in the letter.
The ministry has also pulled up GSI for “total lack of systematic monitoring of Plan expenditure” and has asked the mineral explorer to ensure that its headquarters in Kolkata takes control of the pace of expenditure, along with its five regional offices.
GSI’s Plan expenditure for the current financial year stands at Rs 162 crore, up 23 per cent as compared to the previous financial year.
GSI has been given a target of spending around 50 per cent of this year’s Plan expenditure by end-September. A major chunk of its Plan expenditure is directed at survey and mapping and mineral exploration.
