New Delhi Dec 21 PTI Apex auditor CAG on Tuesday pulled up the Land and Development Office for not having adequate control over its properties saying it was not able to manage the lease administration efficiently as there was irregular inspection and inadequate documentation of the leased properties The Comptroller and Auditor General of India CAG also said there was no sanctioned building plan in eight properties out of the sampled 29 properties and the department had been demanding the same from the lessee It was not clear how the Land and Development Office LDO which comes under the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry conducted inspections without the sanctioned building plans the CAG said in a report tabled in parliament on Tuesday The report stated that the audit observed that in 19 cases dues towards damage misuse interest among others amounting to Rs 44408 crore were outstanding It stated that for receipt of outstanding dues demand letters in respect of only 20 properties out of 29 sampled properties amounting to Rs 32654 crore were last issued to the lessees between June 1977 to December 2019 of which LDO could not recover Rs 32512 crore 9957 per cent LDO did not calculate and review dues from leases nor did it enforce them on defaulters in a timely manner Despite the allottees failure to deposit the dues no action was taken The allottees were reaping all the benefits of their assets while failing to meet their obligations in terms of charges for misuse and unauthorisd constructions the CAG report stated It also stated that LDO did not have adequate control over its properties and was not able to manage the lease administration efficiently and effectively The CAG also observed that LDO was allotting plots to various entities for construction of their building and running their activities It was seen that in three cases LDO had to cancel the allotment of plot and allot another plot in lieu of the same for reasons such as allotment of encroached plot smaller plot etc which shows that LDO was not aware of the actual status of the properties vested under its control it said The report also cited such a case study involving the All India Trinamool Congress AITMC for which land was allotted in March 2011 The possession of land could not be handed over to AITMC due to encroachment Thereafter another plot was allotted on as is where is basis to AITMC at DDU Marg in December 2013 Before handing over the land AITMC inspected the plot and found that it was also not free from encroachment and refused to take possession of the encroached plot it stated Thereafter LDO conducted the inspection of the plot in April 2019 and two temples unauthorizsd were found at the site LDO replied in December 2020 that the plot at Rouse Avenue initially allotted to AITMC could not be handed over as the Delhi Wakf Board did not allow demarcation of the land claiming that the land in question belongs to the Delhi Wakf Board it said Therefore two other plots at DDU Marg were allotted to AITMC on as is where is basis on December 20 2013 subject to amalgamation of the two plots AITMC refused to take over the possession as two temples were situated on the site The requisite action for removal of encroachment from the allotted land had already been initiated and land would be offered for allotment to AITMC Even then if AITMC refuses the offer allotment will be cancelled and earmarked land will be put to alternative use it said LDO had further replied in April 2021 that temples in Delhi could be removed by the Religious Committee of the Delhi government It is evident from the reply that LDO was not aware of the encroachment before allotment Further LDO could not get the encroachment removed even after seven years of allotment it added The CAG report added that LDO has so far not issued any specific instructions to sub-registrar offices that the properties under the control of LDO should not be registered without its permission In the absence of such instructions the sub-registrar offices would not be in a position to identify the properties belonging to LDO for registration purposes it said PTI BUN SRY

New Delhi Dec 21 PTI Apex auditor CAG on Tuesday pulled up state-owned ONGC for flaring of high-pressure gas valued at Rs 81608 crore in the Mumbai High Field during 2012-13 to 2019-20 due to the non-availability of standby process gas compressors power shutdowns and frequent tripping of process gas compressors The Comptroller Auditor General of India CAG also said another public sector firm Indian Oil Corporation Ltd collected Rs 26260 crore of turnover tax from consumers in Andhra Pradesh in violation of legal provisions of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act 1957 Afterwards it settled the legal case with the Government of Telangana by making payment of Rs 6565 crore against a total imposed penalty of Rs 26260 crore Thus resulting in undue enrichment to Indian Oil Corporation Ltd by Rs 19695 crore the CAG said in a report tabled in Parliament Regarding ONGC CAG said high-pressure gas evolved in the process of separation of oil water and gas in the offshore process system of the Mumbai High offshore fields is further compressed in the process gas compressors and fed to the wells for gas lift purpose In this process balance gas is transported to gas processing plant of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation at Uran for further processing and sale to consumers Any disruption in compression leads to flaring of valuable high-pressure gas which also has an adverse impact on environment The government auditor said that in order to maximise gas production it is imperative that all equipment is maintained and run effectively so that there is no loss of production Flaring of gas also has an adverse impact on environment as the emission of carbon dioxide leads to greenhouse gases and global warming During 2012-13 to 2019-20 a total of 1227343 mmscm million metric standard cubic metres high-pressure gas valuing Rs 102108 crore was flared Value of High Pressure gas flared due to avoidable reasons viz power shutdown non-availability of standby process gas compressor and tripping of process gas compressor was Rs 81608 crore the CAG said Mumbai High asset has 29 process gas compressors of which 22 were 15 to 36 years old it added During 2014-15 to 2019-20 there were 286 instances of tripping due to issues relating to gas generators The apex auditor has asked the ONGC that it should pay attention for preventive maintenance and adhere to the overhauling schedule as prescribed by the original equipment manufacturer so as to minimise the flaring of High Pressure gas at Mumbai High fields ONGC may also fix responsibility on the officials responsible for lapses which leads to avoidable flaring of high-pressure gas it added The report contains 42 individual observations relating to 32 central public sector enterprises CPSEs under 10 ministries departments Total financial implication of individual audit observations is Rs 477999 crore PTI NKD CS NKD HRS hrs