One of the three sewage treatment plants at Kanaganeri that is yet to be completed. | Photo Credit: T_Singaravelou more-in The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India has found glaring deficiencies in the plan to set up sewage treatment plants under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in urban areas of Puducherry. The CAG report for the year ended March 2017, tabled in the Assembly on Wednesday, said the Centre had sanctioned the scheme in 2007. The scheme was to provide a comprehensive system, including collection and treatment, in seven urban areas of Puducherry. Of the cost of ?203.40 crore, the Centre had agreed to provide ?162.72 crore. As per the plan, the sewage was to be treated at three treatment plants (STPs), each having a capacity of 17 million litres a day. The project was started in 2010 and was scheduled to be completed in 2013. Noting that the project was yet to be completed, CAG in its report said administrative delay had caused an additional financial burden of ?52.88 crore. The additional burden was caused after the Centre decided to scale down its financial commitment for the project from ?162.72 crore to ?109. 84 crore. No reforms Another factor for the reduction in the Central share was non-implementation of reforms mandated under the JNNURM. Thus, the sharing ratio, which was 80:20 initially, stood at 37:63 now, the report said. The State Level Nodal Agency (SLNA) and the Project Executing Agency (PEA) had failed to monitor the implementation of the project, which increased the burden of the Union Territory. As per the Centre’s guidelines, a third party had to be appointed to track physical and financial progress of the project. An independent agency was appointed but it failed to meet the mandatory requirement of making four site visits a year. The agency had only made five site visits from February 2011 to February 2014. The SLNA did not take any action based on reports submitted by the agency after five site visits. The PEA failed to impose penalty on the contractor for the slow progress of work. Ready, not functioning Three STPs were planned at Kanaganeri, Lawspet and Dubrayapet. The plants at Lawspet and Dubrayapet were only completed but even those STPs could not be operationalised as the collection and conveyance systems were yet to be provided with ventilation shafts, flushing tanks and channelling with the households. The City Development Plan, on which the sewerage scheme was based, had envisaged a sewerage system with a handling capacity of 94.5 million litres a day by 2026. The project could not achieve the objective because of flows at the planning stage itself, the report noted. The report had found deficiencies in other departments. The audit by the CAG in Adi Dravidar Welfare and Disaster Management Departments had revealed that erroneous calculation of enhanced interest for land acquisition resulted in undue payment of ?64 lakh to landowners. The report found an excess payment of ?4.90 crore by the Perunthalaivar Kamaraj Medical College Society for housekeeping services. The society had accepted the rate quoted arbitrarily by Pondicherry Multipurpose Service Providers Co-operative Society resulting in excess payment. The society had failed to invite tenders to explore the possibility of better rates for outsourcing the services, the report said.

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