In a big embarrassment to the Akhilesh Yadav Government, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has found cases of financial mismanagement during holding of Maha Kumbh Mela at Allahabad last year. “Finance management was not planned well. The demands made from the Government of India were not realistic and UP ended up spending only one per cent of the entire expenditure of Maha Kumbh Mela,” the CAG report tabled in the UP Assembly says.
The report says that the funding pattern was labyrinthine with no nodal authority to keep proper track of the finances of the Mela. Besides, there were instances of delayed release of funds which compromised the quality of work and also their not being taken up on time.The CAG has pointed out that the planning for the Mela was not based on scientific parameters, particularly missing was synergy of purpose and co-ordination among the multiple executors and managers of different agencies as no Detailed Project Report was prepared.