The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAGI) has said that lack of co-ordination between the agencies and not fund was holding up the various infrastructure projects in Tamil Nadu.
According to Shankar Narayan, principal accountant general, CAGI, as against the allocation of Rs 3,794.67 crore for transport under the Chennai Metropolitan Development Plan during 2003-08, only Rs 1,473.20 crore, or 39 per cent, was spent due to low expenditure by the highways department.
The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), despite being a nodal agency, has no mandate or power to coordinate the work of other implementing agencies or to monitor plan implementation.
There are five agencies involved in executing road projects. While long-term planning and coordination are being carried out by the CMDA, the others include Department of Highways and Rural Works, Chennai Corporation, Metropolitan Transport Corporation and Railways. “Coordination of these communities is very limited, in the absence of financial and administrative power vested in them,” the report said.
It may be noted that various projects in the state have failed to take off. For instance, the Ennore-Manali connectivity project, which connects Chennai port to Ennore Manali Highway, has been stuck for the last seven years due to lack of fund. While the total project cost is around Rs 600 crore, stakeholders could pump in only Rs 460 crore.
14 state-run cos incur Rs 3498 cr Accumulated loss
Fourteen state-run companies in Tamil Nadu reported an accumulated loss of Rs 3,498.90 crore, exceeding their paid-up capital of Rs 1,116.96 crore. In its its report, the CAGI said lack of modernisation, increase in the cost of production, pricing pattern and competition and incorrect policy led to losses for the year 2007-08.
