Large scale irregularities in Delhi govt departments: CAG

Glaring financial discrepancies, irregularities and wasteful expenditure in various departments and undertakings of the Delhi government resulted in losses amounting to thousands of crores, apex auditor CAG has observed in reports tabled in the Delhi Assembly today.

The Comptroller and Auditor General also flagged irregularities to the tune of about Rs 160 crore, including loss of revenue and under-assessment of taxes, in various revenue sector departments in fiscal year 2014-15.

The current AAP government, led by Arvind Kejriwal, was in power in the state only for one-and-half month duration of the period under the CAG review as it assumed office in February 2015.

The Delhi Transport Corporation suffered a staggering loss of Rs 5,022 crore on operations during 2010-15, the CAG observed in its performance audit report and added that it could not procure a single bus despite availability of funds.

In a severe indictment of the health department, it said that hospitals under Delhi government procured items and consumables without assessing the actual requirement which lay unused in stock for prolonged periods resulting in the blocking of Rs 3.16 crore.

It added that in spite of incurring an expenditure of Rs 37.82 lakh on installation of water harvesting systems, seven Delhi government hospitals failed to avail rebate of 15 per cent on their water bills, resulting in excess payment of Rs 2.76 crore to Delhi Jal Board during the same period.