CAG finds ₹400 crore spent on unnecessary cement grouting in UP power schemes

This audit examined the implementation and financial management of the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) schemes in Uttar Pradesh for the period 2014-15 to 2022-23.

Government of Uttar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), and four State Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOMs).

• Failure to convert loans to grants: DISCOMs lost the benefit of converting ₹2,002.61 crore in loans into grants due to delays and unmet targets.
• Avoidable expenditure on PCC poles: Unnecessary cement concrete grouting of PCC poles resulted in avoidable costs of ₹125.35 crore (DDUGJY) and ₹277.09 crore (SAUBHAGYA).
• Excess payments to Third-Party Contractors (TKCs): Duplicate connections and inadmissible claims led to excess payments totaling ₹26.65 crore for duplicate connections, ₹3.37 crore for electrical safety inspections, and ₹1.09 crore for sag/jumpering.
• Interest overpayments: Avoidable interest obligations of ₹3.94 crore due to excess loans and overpayment of ₹7.19 crore to REC due to incorrect rate verification.
• GST/Tax discrepancies: Excess claims of ₹1.09 crore (CGST) and ₹1.81 crore (SGST) by PVVNL, and unclaimed state tax reimbursement of ₹4.21 crore.
• Unachieved feeder separation: 71.22% of agricultural consumers remained connected to non-agriculture feeders in sampled districts.
• Recommendations: CAG recommended accurate tax claims, assessment of loan requirements, effective monitoring of TKCs to prevent duplicates, and regular SLSC/DISHA meetings.

Written from the document by AI, and checked against it. The original below is authoritative.

The original document