Comptroller and Auditor General of India Slams Government Over BADP Implementation

Our Correspondent

Itanagar: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has criticised the Arunachal Pradesh Government for gross anomalies while implementing the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) in the State.

The recent CAG report which was tabled in the State Assembly on Thursday by Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, alleged that as per the findings, the annual action plans by the State Government were prepared without long-term planning for saturation of border villages as required under scheme guidelines.

BADP was started during the Seventh Plan period (1985-1990) with a two-pronged approach – balanced development of sensitive border areas through adequate provision of infrastructure facilities and promoting a sense of security among the local population residing in border areas.

During the Ninth Plan (1997-2002), the programme was extended to 17 States of the country including Arunachal Pradesh which shares an international border with Myanmar, China and Bhutan that runs into 5, 830 kilometres involving 13 border districts of the State. The report alleged that priority was not given to villages situated within 0-10 kilometres of the international border as 340 schemes including 186 in Tawang district and 154 in Upper Subansiri were taken up in village situated between 10 to 23.75 kilometres from the international border.

“In West Siang district, 114 schemes were implemented in 31 villages located beyond 50 kilometres of the border,” the report said.

During 2012-17, there was a shortfall in release of Central share to the extent of Rs 34.40 crore and State share of Rs 11.43 crore. Further, an amount of Rs 355.35 crore received from the Centre for the scheme, was parked by the State Government for a period of one to 23 months, the reported highlighted in its findings.

The report also criticised the government for creating idle assets under BADP besides, wasteful and doubtful expenditures.

“Monitoring mechanism was inadequate and no high ranking State nodal officers were appointed during the five-year period and no national quality monitors from the Centre had inspected any BADP schemes during the audit period,” the report pointed out.

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