Kohima, March 18 2009:: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pointed that an amount of Rs.21.43 crore under Technology Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture in North Eastern States was misappropriated or unaccounted.

The CAG report for the year ended 2008 tabled in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly recent revealed that the Government of India approved the scheme of Integrated Development of Horticulture (IDH) in North Eastern States and released Rs.35.41 crore (November 2006 to December 2007) in ten installments to the Horticulture Department of various components of Mini Mission-II of the Technology Mission during 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. However, scrutiny (April 2008) of records of the Directorate of Horticulture, Kohima revealed that the closing cash balance as on March 31, 2008 was shown as Rs 24.83 crore in the cash book as against the ban balance of Rs 3.40 crore resulting in an overstatement of cash balance of Rs.21.43 crore, the report said.

Quoting the department, the report said that this amount was paid as advance for various purpose to the officials and suppliers without recording the transactions in the cash book while further scrutiny revealed that Rs.1.59 crore had been paid to two retired officers including Ex-Director Y..YKikon (Rs.32.60 lakh) and Ex-Jt Director Nukenchiba (Rs.1.26 crore).

In the absence of any details of expenditure of Rs 21.43 crore, the CAG said that the possibility of the money being misappropriated cannot be ruled out while the chances of recovering Rs.1.59 crore from the two retired officers are remote.

Further in regard to Agriculture Department, the CAG report pointed that the Director of Agriculture released an amount of Rs.3.21 crore (October 2004 to January 2007) in the form of Bank Drafts and Cash for implementation of thirteen schemes to the District Agriculture officer (DAO) Tuensang during 2004-2005 to 2006-2007. However, scrutiny of records of the DAO Tuensang, revealed that against the total funds of Rs.3.21 crore released by the Directorate only Rs 1.04 crore was accounted by the DAO Tuensang in the cash book.

It also pointed that valuables register or separate registers for schemes were also not maintained by the DAO, besides records in support of expenditure of Rs 2.17 crore did not exist.

"Thus, an amount of Rs 2.17 crore was misappropriated," the report exposed.

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