Vijayawada: Panchayat raj and rural development commissioner B. Ramanjaneyulu said the department would initiate a special audit, and if necessary, an internal inquiry to find out the anomalies pointed out by the CAG, in its report on PR department performance. Speaking to media here on Tuesday, he admitted that cases of misutilisation of funds happened during purchase of computers.
He said he would find out about the root cause of irregularities through inquiry or special audit. “The CAG report mentioned about the lacunae in the purchases of computer systems in 2014 under RGPS scheme and we will certainly look into the issue, and others, if any, pointed out by CAG,” Mr Ramanjaneyulu said. The commissioner also said the state government has sanctioned Rs 500 crore non-refundable loan to the panchayat raj department, as part of executing NREGA programme, in the 13 districts. “It is in addition to the allotted budget to the PR department, for 2017-18,” the commissioner said and added that laying of roads and building infra are the priorities for the PR department in rural areas under the NREGA scheme.
Underground drainage works would also be taken up and completed in all the villages this year, he said. The PR department also has taken up construction of ministadia in all divisions, with an estimated cost of Rs 2 crore per each stadium, in which SAAP will fund Rs 1 crore, commissioner Ramanjaneyulu said. The PR department of AP is very strong, the commissioner said. During the initial years of implementation of NREGA scheme, the state lost Rs 3,900 crore due to lack of knowledge about the convergence of the scheme. “But, today we are ahead of all the states and are the guiding force for others,” the commissioner said. Joint Commissioner Balasubrahmanyam also spoke.
