Not a Single Toilet Built in Delhi Under Swachh Bharat: CAG Report

“Funds to the tune of Rs 40.31 crore allocated for this purpose is lying idle”.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

(Photo: Reuters)

Not a single toilet has been constructed in the national capital since the inception of the Swachh Bharat Mission three-and-half years ago, with funds to the tune of Rs 40.31 crore for this purpose lying 'idle', the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said on Tuesday, 3 April.

According to a report by the CAG tabled in the Delhi Assembly, the AAP-led city government did not allocate the Mission funds to implementing agencies as per their requirements.

It said the implementing agencies, including all three Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCDs) and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) received a total of Rs 40.31 crore under the mission, including Rs 10.08 crore as state share, but the entire fund remained unutilised as of March 2017.

"NDMC, SDMC and DCB did not assess the requirement of household toilets, but the Mission funds totalling Rs 16.92 crore was released to them for construction of household toilets," the CAG report said.

The auditing body said the DUSIB, responsible for making slums and JJ clusters in the city open defecation free (ODF), did not receive the state share from the Delhi government.

"The DUSIB received (as in January 2016) an amount of Rs 6.86 crore, including the state share of Rs 1.71 crore (25 percent of the total cost) against Rs 41.49 crore required by them.

Though the body actively followed up with the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) for state share (60 percent ) for construction of community toilets, the GNCTD did not release the same during 2016-17. Therefore, DUSIB refunded the entire fund of Rs 6.86 crore it received under the Mission.

CAG report

"Not a single toilet was constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission in two and half years since its inception on 2 October 2014,” the report said. Funds to the tune of Rs 40.31 crore allocated for this purpose was lying idle as “the monitoring and evaluation mechanism prescribed in the scheme was not worked upon,” the report said.

Kejriwal Warns of Action Against 'Corruption, Irregularities'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today warned of "exemplary action" in cases of "corruption and irregularities" as pointed out by the CAG in its report, even as government sources claimed that the AAP dispensation is contemplating to refer such matters for CBI inquiry.

The move comes at a time when the AAP government and bureaucrats are at loggerheads since the alleged attack on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by some ruling party MLAs at the chief minister's residence in February.

Sources said that at least 50 cases from the CAG report have been identified by the government so far and the report is being studied for more such cases to be sent for CBI probe.

"At least 50 cases from the CAG report have been identified to be sent to CBI for inquiry. The report is being studied and the number of cases to be sent to CBI may increase. The chief minister himself is looking into the report," they said.

CAG Report Exposed AAP Govt's Claims of Development: BJP

The CAG report has "exposed" the AAP government's claims regarding health and education sectors, and has established that the dispensation was "not paying attention" towards development of the national capital, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said on Tuesday.

"The report has established the fact that the Arvind Kejriwal government is paying no attention towards development of the city and its tall claims on health and education are frivolous," Tiwari said.