CAG asks Telangana State to compile working results of MIPs

Hyderabad: Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) asked the State government to compile working results of Major Irrigation Projects (MIPs) to assess benefits from persistent heavy outlays in the irrigation sector.

The CAG report presented in the State Legislative Council here on Sunday made these recommendations as to the working results should guide future investments in the sector, against the backdrop of the State government's heavy capital outlays on the irrigation projects.

The report said the State government has placed the creation of infrastructure as a priority area since the formation of the State and it has spent Rs 79,236 crore on Capital Projects during the years starting from 2014 to 2018.

Out of the total capital outlays the State government has spent more than 50 per cent on the irrigation and flood control, expect during the financial years 2016-17.

However, delays in the completion of the project not only adversely affected the quality of the expenditure but also deprived the State of intended benefits and economic growth, it pointed out.

The report said that the original cost of 19 irrigation projects was Rs 41,201 crore. But delays ranging from three to eleven years resulted in the shooting up of the projected cost to Rs 1,32,928 crore.

An amount of Rs 70,758 crore was spent on the incomplete irrigation projects so far. The State government did not disclose financial results of any of the irrigation projects, it observed.