The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India audit has found that the mandatory quality control tests envisaged in the PWD manual were not included in the tender and contract documents.

The State circumvented the quality control tests stipulated by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) by restricting the cost of works, the CAG report on economic sector for the year ending March 2018, tabled in the Assembly on Monday, said.

Works with large estimates were split into smaller works to avoid quality control tests. In an audit that checked 282 works, it was found that field laboratories mandatory for works costing more than ₹2 crore were not set up by contractors at the site of 85 works. Further, 119 works costing ₹366.09 crore did not have mandatory first-tier quality control tests and 106 works were subjected to four to nine tests only. Second tier tests were conducted only in 85 works costing ₹495.32 crore.

Poor supervision

The departmental supervision of works was inadequate. In eight out of nine ongoing works, the contractors did not deploy qualified engineering personnel at sites.

The CAG pointed out that PWD did not carry out road maintenance works as prescribed in the PWD manual. The roads division did not maintain chart of important roads. The PWD Roads wing did not have a mechanism for the timely detection and rectification of defects of roads.

The audit observed that lapses in arranging periodic renewal works resulted in severe damage to the carriageway. Road drainages were not maintained properly. Lapses in road restoration after trenching works damaged the road surface.

Aquaculture agency

The report contains findings of one performance audit and 12 compliance audit paragraphs. In the audit in the Agency for Development of Aquaculture, Kerala, functioning under the Department of Fisheries, it was found that the hatchery and farms functioning under the agency did not comply with the requirements stipulated in the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act, 2005. The agency failed to adhere to the guidelines issued by Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA) for culturing of Whiteleg shrimp.

The agency farmed genetically improved fishes without adhering to the safeguards recommended by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board raising potential risk to biodiversity.