CAG flags financial irregularities in previous Odisha govt's high school transformation plan

BHUBANESWAR: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has flagged several financial irregularities and deficiencies in the implementation of the 5T High School Transformation Programme (HSTP) of the previous BJD government in Odisha.

The BJD government's School and Mass Education (SME) Department introduced the programme in 2021 to transform infrastructure in schools and make them better places of learning.

The programme was implemented by Mo School Abhiyan Parichalana Sangathan (MSAPS), Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) and district collectors.

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CAG audit for six districts

The CAG audited records for the programme in six districts -- Balasore, Cuttack, Ganjam, Jajpur, Keonjhar and Sundargarh -- and mentioned the findings in one of its recent reports. During the audit, the CAG observed gross irregularities, including suspected misappropriation of programme funds, fraudulent payments and procurements made without following guidelines, among others.

A sum of Rs 57.95 lakh from the HSTP fund was spent on Badachana Women's Higher Secondary School, which was a private educational institution not eligible for assistance under HSTP, according to the report.

The auditor also suspected misappropriation of HSTP and Mo School Abhiyan funds amounting to Rs 12.48 lakh in Ranihat High School, Cuttack and Rs 30 lakh in Nandipur High School under Dasarathpur block of Jajpur district. The CAG also detected a fraudulent payment of Rs 4.95 lakh made by the Jaleswar BDO by falsely claiming repairs of desks.

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Non-functional smart classrooms

"Due to a lack of coordination between OSEPA and the Jajpur district administration, wasteful expenditure of Rs 7.39 crore was noticed in the duplicate procurement of e-content by OSEPA as well as from EDCIL (a PSU under the Ministry of Education) for 430 schools in the district," the report said.

Similarly, the audit noticed non-functional smart classrooms and science laboratories due to the unavailability of water or gas connections, required equipment and chemicals, as well as a lack of internet access in 54 schools.