Flagging serious lapses and delays in the construction of two railway lines between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Kurla station in Mumbai, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has highlighted that despite an expenditure of Rs 500.93 crore, about 56 per cent of the sanctioned estimate of over Rs 890 crore (September 2014), only 26 per cent of the work was actually completed till January last year.
In its report tabled in Parliament on Thursday, the CAG said that the scheduled date of completion of the project, which was earlier rescheduled from March 2021 to March 2024, would have to be further extended.
The auditor pointed out that the construction works were awarded without approved designs, drawings and clear sites, which led to the delay in the completion of the project.
The audit report noted the instances of idling of electrical and Signal and Telecommunication materials due to award of construction works without ensuring availability of clear sites. It said : "Railway Board’s instructions of June 2008 for provision of housing to be kept to a bare minimum level only just to meet the functional requirements and submission of estimates with full details and justification were not followed at the time of preparing detailed estimates. This led to improper detailed estimates prepared by Rail India Technical and Economic Service resulting in delay in its sanction by the Board."
The CAG said that the Baseline Socio-Economic survey for Phase I work was not completed even after a lapse of more than 11 years from September 2012. It also said that the persons affected by the project were not rehabilitated (January 2024) as Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority could not complete the construction work of units at Kilburn, Nahur, which led to delay in getting the possession of land.
Non-adherence of provisions and instructions of the Board providing for minimum acquisition of land resulted in excess assessment of land requirement at the detailed estimate stage.
