PNS/ DEHRADUN
The Comptroller and Auditor General report, presented in the Budget Session of the Uttarakhand Assembly, uncovered irregularities as regards the Workers Welfare Board. As per the report, Rs 607 crore allocated for the welfare of the construction workers had been spent between 2017 and 2021 without the required government approval. Further, as per the report, Rs 14 crore was diverted from the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) for unauthorised expenses, including iPhones, laptops, refrigerators, and coolers as well as building renovations and legal fees. Notably, CAMPA, meant to manage funds collected from forest land diverted for non-forest uses, mandates that compensatory afforestation should occur within one or two growing seasons of receiving funds. But as per the CAG report, things were delayed for over eight years in as many as 37 cases. More, CAG found the selection of land under the CAMPA scheme inappropriate.
