Bhubaneswar: Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has flagged the possibility of fraudulent payments in Odisha’s water resources department after finding that Rs 4.26 crore was spent on constructing seven check dams at locations where such structures already existed.In its compliance audit report for the year ended March 2024, tabled in Odisha Assembly on Monday, CAG said it examined geo-tagged data and satellite imagery of check dams taken up under the Mukhyamantri Adibandha Tiari Yojana (MATY). The audit found that despite geo-tagging of existing structures, fresh agreements were executed and public funds released for the construction of new check dams at the same sites.The audit scrutinised 331 of 481 check dams constructed in 12 sampled minor irrigation divisions and cross-verified their locations using Google Earth Pro and geo-tag credentials provided by the divisions. It found that seven check dams in four divisions were already in existence when fresh construction contracts were awarded. Yet, expenditure of Rs 4.26 crore was incurred between April 2023 and January 2025 for their construction.“Incurring expenditure on construction of check dams that may have already been in existence indicates a possibility of fraudulent payments which needs to be investigated by appropriate authorities,” the audit report observed.The check dams were taken up under MATY, a state scheme aimed at improving irrigation facilities and recharging groundwater through the construction of check dams. The water resources department had also directed geo-tagging of check dams in 2022 to help identify existing structures and prevent duplication. However, the audit found that despite geo-tagging, fresh agreements were executed for structures that were already present.Responding to the audit observation, govt stated that some of the structures identified by audit had been constructed earlier and were visible in Google images before the new agreements were executed. In one case, it contended that the structure seen in satellite images was an earthen bund built by local people. Govt also disputed one of the locations identified by audit.CAG, however, rejected the explanation, noting that the concerned superintending engineers had executed fresh agreements and made payments of Rs 4.26 crore for construction of new check dams at those locations. It also pointed out that the estimates did not mention replacement of older structures and that the geo-tag coordinates used for verification had been supplied by the department itself.
