Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Social, General and Economic Sectors (Non-Public Sector Undertakings) for the year ended 31 March 2018 Government of Punjab Report No. 4 of the year 2019 Table of contents Description Reference to Paragraph Page Preface v Overview vii Chapter-I : Introduction Budget profile 1.1 1 Application of resources of the State Government 1.2 1 Grants-in-aid from Government of India 1.3 2 Planning and conduct of audit 1.4 2 Significant audit observations and response of 1.5 3 Government to audit Recoveries at the instance of audit 1.6 3 Lack of responsiveness of Government to Audit 1.7 3 Follow-up action on Audit Reports 1.8 4 Status of placement of Separate Audit Reports of 1.9 4 autonomous bodies in the State Legislature Year-wise details of performance audits and 1.10 5 paragraphs appeared in Audit Reports Chapter-II : Performance Audit HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT Information Technology Audit of e-Aushadhi 2.1 7 LABOUR DEPARTMENT Working of Punjab Building and Other 2.2 28 Construction Workers’ Welfare Board Chapter-III : Compliance Audit AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT Avoidable payment of land compensation 3.1 55 EDUCATION, FINANCE AND PUBLIC WORKS (BUILDINGS & ROADS) DEPARTMENTS Suspected fraudulent drawal of pay and 3.2 57 allowances HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE AND MEDICAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH DEPARTMENTS Unfruitful expenditure arising from non- functional upgraded building of hospital 3.3 60 Report on Social, General and Economic Sectors (Non-PSUs) for the year ended 31 March 2018 Description Reference to Paragraph Page HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT Suspected misappropriation of Government 3.4 61 money HOME AFFAIRS AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT Management of police buildings 3.5 64 Security mechanism in jails 3.6 75 HOME AFFAIRS & JUSTICE AND FINANCE DEPARTMENTS Avoidable extra payment of interest 3.7 88 IRRIGATION DEPARTMENT Blockade of expenditure 3.8 89 MEDICAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH DEPARTMENT Non-functional Diagnostic and Superspeciality 3.9 90 Block Idle expenditure arising from non-functional 3.10 91 machine for treatment of cancer patients Idle expenditure arising from non-functional 3.11 92 Multidisciplinary Research Units PUBLIC WORKS (BUILDINGS & ROADS) AND AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENTS Construction, upgradation and repair of link roads by Public Works Department (Buildings & 3.12 94 Roads) with Punjab Mandi Board and State budgetary funds PUBLIC WORKS (BUILDINGS & ROADS), FINANCE AND TOURISM & CULTURAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENTS Irregular waiver and non-deduction of cultural 3.13 102 and cancer cesses PUBLIC WORKS (BUILDINGS & ROADS) DEPARTMENT Idle expenditure on consultancy 3.14 105 PUBLIC WORKS (BUILDINGS & ROADS) AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS Avoidable payment of interest 3.15 107 TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND INDUSTRIAL TRAINING DEPARTMENT Inadmissible payment of pay and allowances 3.16 109 ii Table of Contents Description Reference to Paragraph Page TOURISM AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT Unfruitful expenditure on amphibious bus project 3.17 110 TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING DEPARTMENT Loss of revenue to the State exchequer 3.18 112 WATER RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE AND SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION DEPARTMENTS Groundwater Management in Punjab 3.19 115 iii Report on Social, General and Economic Sectors (Non-PSUs) for the year ended 31 March 2018 Appendices Sr. Description Reference to No. Paragraph Page 1.1 Details of performance audits/paragraphs of 1.8 143 the Reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for which departmental replies were not received up to 31 March 2019 2.1 Detail s of short/non -levy of labour cess by the 2.2.7.5 145 development authorities 2.2 Details of irregular payments made to the 2.2.8.1 (b) 146 beneficiaries (iii) 3.1 Details of avoidable payment of land 3.1 147 compensation due to delay in announcement of award 3.2 Details of suspected fraudulent drawal of pay 3.2 (a) 148 and allowances 3.3 Statement showing suspected fraudulent 3.2 (b) 149 drawal of arrears in A ccount No. 10926361712 3.4 Details of short deposit of Government money 3.4 (b) 151 in bank during January 2017 to February 2018 3.5 Inadequate infrastructural facilities in police 3.5.3.2 (iii) 152 stations 3.6 Lodging of convicts according to capacity of 3.6.3.4 154 jails 3.7 Statement showing delay in completion of 3.12.2(a) 155 works 3.8 Statement showing incomplete works 3.12.2(a) 156 3. 9 Statement showing creation of liability in 3.12. 2(b) 157 respect of work under RB-09 Upgradation/ Strengthening of badly damaged roads 3.1 0 Statement showing details of works where 3.13(a) 16 3 cultural cess was not deducted from the payments of the contractors 3.1 1 Details of newly appointed faculty who were 3.1 6 168 getting full pay and allowances instead of minimum of pay band 3.1 2 Statement showing area under major crops 3. 19 .4.2(i) 174 vis -a-vis area under rice and wheat 3.1 3 Statement showing details of grant of NOC to 3. 19.6 .4 175 extract more water than permissible 3.1 4 Statement showing priority while selecting the 3. 19 .10.2 176 artificial recharge schemes based on DGWR- (a) & (c) 2013 3.1 5 Statement showing priority while selecting the 3. 19 .10.2 179 artificial recharge schemes based on DGWR- (a) & (b) 2011 3.1 6 Statement showing district -wise average area 3. 19 .12.1 & 182 covered under observat ion wells 3.19.12.2 iv Preface This Report for the year ended 31 March 2018 has been prepared for submission to the Governor of the State of Punjab under Article 151 of the Constitution of India. The Report contains significant results of the performance audit and compliance audit of the departments/autonomous bodies of Government of Punjab under the Social, General and Economic Sectors (Non-Public Sector Undertakings). The instances mentioned in this Report are those, which came to notice in the course of test audit during the year 2017-18 as well as those which came to notice in earlier years, but could not be reported in the previous Audit Reports; instances relating to the period subsequent to 2017-18 have also been included, wherever necessary. The audit has been conducted in conformity with the Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. OVERVIEW This Report contains two performance audits viz. (i) Information Technology Audit of e-Aushadhi and (ii) Working of Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board and 19 paragraphs involving money value of ` 194.53 crore. PERFORMANCE AUDIT 1. Information Technology Audit of e-Aushadhi With a view to strengthening and streamlining the supply chain management system for storage and distribution of drugs and consumables in the State of Punjab and to eliminate the prevailing manual system of processes followed in the hospitals where the chances of human errors are significant, a customized Drugs and Vaccine Distribution Management System (DVDMS) named ‘e-Aushadhi’ was implemented (August 2014) in Health and Family Welfare Department (Department). An information technology audit of the ‘e-Aushadhi’ brought out shortcomings/deficiencies in its implementation that undermined the achievement of its objectives in the State. Some of the significant audit findings are summarised below: The Department had not prepared any time-bound roll-out plan for implementation of e-Aushadhi system for 360 health institutions still to be covered. (Paragraph 2.1.6.1) In the absence of a barcode system, users were not entering the data on real time basis resulting in critical data input errors. (Paragraph 2.1.7.2 (ii & iii)) As many as 4,405 delivery challans were freezed after a delay of up to 531 days. In 1,424 instances, the drugs/consumables were accepted with shorter shelf-life by three Drug Warehouses. The users while verifying the supplies of drugs/consumables ignored the system alert with regard to shorter shelf-life in these cases. (Paragraph 2.1.7.3 (i)(a) & (ii)) 1,324 samples of drugs/consumables were sent for quality check to Central Quality Control Cell (CQCC) after a delay of up to 412 days. (Paragraph 2.1.7.4 (iii)) Test reports of samples of drugs/consumables were received after a delay of up to 315 days (387 batches) from Government laboratory and up to 51 days (686 batches) from empanelled laboratories. Activation of drugs not of standard quality (NOSQ) and their distribution showed that the system was not robust and lack of internal control diluted the quality assurance for testing of drugs/consumables. (Paragraph 2.1.7.5 (ii & iv to vii)) Report on Social, General and Economic Sectors (Non-PSUs) for the year ended 31 March 2018 Inadequate logical access controls, application standards, audit trails and non-conducting of internal audit showed weak information system security of e-Aushadhi. (Paragraph 2.1.8) 2. Working of Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board (Board) was constituted in April 2009 to implement the welfare schemes in the State. The performance audit on the working of the Board brought out various deficiencies in planning to identify/register workers as well as establishments, poor financial management, inefficient implementation of welfare schemes and disbursement of benefits to ineligible workers, besides inadequate manpower and monitoring system. Some of the significant audit findings are enumerated below: State Advisory Committee and Expert Committee were not holding meetings regularly to discuss the efficient implementation of welfare schemes as provided in the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 (Act).