Thiruvananthapuram: The Comptroller and Auditor General has pulled up the agriculture department for various discrepancies during the tenure of the previous UDF government. The non-completion of soil conservation work in Thrissur district caused a loss of assistance of Rs 1.37 crore from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
The state government had issued an order in July 2014 that PSUs not directly executing works are not eligible for mobilisation advance. But the then Director of Soil Survey and Soil Conservation (DSSSC) had withdrawn Rs 1.13 crore from the treasury in March 2015 before incurring the actual expenditure and held it till December 2015 against the provisions.
The work of the Institute for Watershed Development and Management Kerala at Chadayamangalam (IWDMK) was awarded to Kerala Land Development Corporation (KLDC) at an estimated cost of Rs 81 lakh as mobilisation fund. The agriculture secretary said the matter was being pursued by the department.
A senior department official told DC that the official responsible for the loss in the soil conservation work at Vayinthodu, Malachal in Thrissur district with NABARD assistance has been pulled up for the lapse and earnest money deposit of the contractor was forfeited.
