Himachal Pradesh PWD did incur an expenditure of Rs. 135.07 crores.
Out of 269 projects sanctioned for Rs. 859.26 crores, 132 projects with the sanctioned cost of Rs. 393.79 crores were taken up for execution within one year. Only 65 projects were completed within a stipulated period of four years after incurring an expenditure of Rs. 135.07 crores.
Status of project execution.
NABARD projects are required to be started within one year and completed within four years from the date of sanction.
A total of 1,609 road and bridge sector projects were sanctioned in the State by NABARD for Rs. 3,857.62 crores during 1996-2018. Of these, 399 projects were sanctioned for Rs. 1,463.09 crores during 2013-18. Total 1,252 projects were completed with an expenditure of Rs. 2,260.04 crores during 1996-97 to 2017-18 which included 576 projects completed during 2013-18. Twenty-eight projects were dropped and 329 projects sanctioned for Rs. 1,347 crores were in progress on which expenditure of Rs. 454.25 crores had been incurred up to March 2018.
The status of execution of NABARD projects in 17 test-checked divisions during 2013-18 is shown in Table-2.1.3 below:
(i) Out of 269 projects sanctioned for Rs. 859.26 crores, only 132 projects with the sanctioned cost of Rs. 393.79 crores were taken up for execution within one year.
(ii) Only 65 projects were completed within a stipulated period of four years after incurring an expenditure of Rs. 135.07 crores.
Non-starting and non-completion of projects within the stipulated period were attributed to non-availability of forest clearance, land disputes, time is taken in completion of codal formalities, and tendering process.
In the exit conference, the ACS stated that necessary steps would be taken to speed up the progress of the works.
Recommendation: The Government may ensure completion of codal formalities by departmental authorities on availability of land/ forest clearance before approval of projects.
