Chandigarh: A damning national audit has exposed a systemic collapse in Punjab’s local governance, revealing thousands of acres of stolen land, crores in unpaid taxes, and a trail of “ghost” community projects.The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report for the period ending March 2023 details a landscape of administrative paralysis. In rural areas, 18,123 acres of panchayat land are under unauthorized occupation, while 17 community welfare projects — costing about ₹93 lakh — sit either abandoned or unfinished.Key failures identified include infrastructure waste, revenue leakage, and fiscal malpractice. Six completed assets worth ₹7.8 crore were never utilised and are now deteriorating. Urban bodies failed to collect more than ₹126.5 crore in waste management charges, while major institutions, including Punjab Agricultural University, allegedly evaded more than ₹1 crore in property tax. Auditors flagged more than ₹4.5 crore rupees in unauthorised construction works and more than ₹2.2 crore in illegal advance payments to contractors.In one graphic example of neglect, a pond treatment system in Bhalwan was found discharging raw sewage because its screening chamber was choked with silt. The CAG warned that without urgent recovery of more than ₹9.6 crore in unpaid rent and stricter oversight of land auctions, the state’s local bodies face financial ruin.MSID:: 129614667 413 |
