Bhubaneswar: The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India for the year 2017, criticizes the Odisha Mining Corporation Ltd (OMCL) for failing to achieve targeted production of ore and falling short of its revenue budget. The report tabled in the Odisha Assembly by the Finance minister Sashi Bhusan Behera on Monday, stated that the state public sector undertaking (PSU) has no long-term corporate plan because of which it has not been able to achieve the target.
Briefing media persons after the CAG report was presented in the State Assembly, Madhusmita Basu, Principal Accountant General (AG), said: “The OMC could not achieve the targeted production of ore during 2012-2017. There was shortfall in the production of 114.44 lakh metric tonne (LMT) of iron ore and 2.7 LMT of chrome ore during the aforesaid period which resulted in the loss of earned revenue to the tune of Rs 1,839 crore.
The report has further stated that out of a total of 34 mines owned by the OMC, 26 are non-operative and as a result, the Corporation has incurred a loss of Rs 56.26 crore
Basu said till March 31, 2017, there were 56 working and 28 non-working PSUs in Odisha. “Out of 56 working PSUs, 35 of them earned a profit of Rs 2,028 crore while 15 PSUs incurred a loss of Rs 507 crore as per the latest finalized account,” she said.
The report also criticized the state government for its inordinate delay in the payment of Rs 3,114 crore to the daily wage labourers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA). On the payment of compensation, the report said as against a total compensation amount of Rs 53.19 crore, the state government has been able to pay only Rs 15 lakh.
The CAG report also found gross irregularities in the Odisha State Police Housing and Welfare Corporation (OSPHWC). According to the report, due to unauthorized construction, the corporation had made unnecessary expenditure of Rs 64 lakh out of its approved project expenditure of Rs 1.94 crore. Besides construction materials worth Rs 31 were also stolen due to poor store management by the Corporation.
