PANAJI
The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has censured the State government for failure to prepare plans and appropriately fix budgets for school education in the five years between 2015 and 2020.
"Goa Samagra Siksha (GSS) did not prepare perspective plans and did not adopt bottom-up approach for preparation of annual works and budget during 2015-20. In 20 out of 42 test-checked schools, School Management Committees did not prepare school development plans during 2015-20," the CAG report said.
The report for the year ended March 2020, was tabled in the Goa legislative Assembly on Friday by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and it lists irregularities and wasteful expenditure totally running into hundreds of crores of rupees across departments of the Goa government.
From short collection of transfer fee up to Rs 5.04 crore by the Economic Development Corporation EDC to short collection of rent up to Rs 12.32 crores, the CAG has exposed fiscal deficiencies in the carrying out of government business and procedures.
The Director of Panchayat, it said, leased out a premises for three years for shifting its office which remained unoccupied or partially occupied for over two of these three years while it paid rent for all the 36 months.
"The rent paid was Rs 2.95 crore which was infructuous," the CAG said.
The report has indicted the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) for its failure to collect royalty for extraction and sale of sand by 55 permit holders. It also did not have any information on quantity extraction by another 144 sand permit holders, it said.
In another observation the CAG said the PWD's Sub-division II of Division XXI was regularly delaying remittance of revenue collected through receipt books to the divisional cash book resulting in diversion of funds and delayed remittance into the Treasury. It noted "misappropriation" of Rs 10 lakh from government account in September 2019.
In the case of Goa Housing Board, the CAG said it did not comply with Income Tax Act, 1961 provisions related to payment of advance tax and filing returns, having to pay Rs 70.69 lakh in penalties.
In yet another observation, the Commercial Taxes Department Assessing Authority was pulled up for failing to levy entry tax of Rs 3.18 crore on inter-State purchase of goods used for liquor manufacturing units.
The department was also censured for an exemption granted in luxury tax of up to Rs 4.14 crore without the assesse being eligible.
The Civil Registrar and Sub-Registrar (CRSR) office in Pernem, fisheries department among some others also came in for adverse comments from the CAG in the report.
