Chief Minister Raman Singh, who also holds finance portfolio in the state cabinet, tabled in the state assembly the Controller and Auditors General’s (CAG) report on local bodies of the state on Friday.
The report was for the year ending on March 31 2016. It has reviewed the working of the local bodies to the tune of Rs 187.27 crores. The report has also reviewed the workings and responsibilities of Panchayati Raj institutions.
In the report, CAG has highlighted failure of urban bodies in recovery of revenue due to not following the rules and regulations has come to fore. The CAG report has drew attention on the slow pace of development works and has also pointed out the lacking in the schemes.
The Bilaspur Municipal Corporation was found to be in loss of Rs 71.48 lakhs and the Jashpur Municipal Council has the liabilities of Rs 40.8 lakhs. The CAG has also found that recovery of 23.49 lakhs was not done while shopkeepers were unknowingly benefitted with Rs 85.32 Lakh.
The CAG also pointed out lacking in the welfare schemes in Panchayati Raj Institutions of Surguja. The report further said that there was no proper monitoring in the schemes in Surguja. It has also brought to fore the lacking that the placement agencies were provided additional payment of Rs 1.36 crore.
Even though there was shortage of revenue, the 15 urban bodies of the state have failed to recover property tax of 88553 buildings. A loss of revenue worth 13.3 crore has been estimated for it. The CAG has found that the recovery capability of Municipal Corporation was better than that of Municipal Councils and Panchayats.