Panaji: The Comptroller Auditor General has pointed out serious anamolies in the functioning of Goa Industrial Development Corporation including the allotment of plot, which the auditor says is being done arbitrarily.
The CAG said that the follow-up Audit undertaken to assess the progress in implementation of recommendations of Performance Audit of Estate Management of Goa Industrial Development Corporation revealed failure in implementation of recommendations and lack of remedial action to address the underlying issues.
“A comprehensive database on type of industrial units operating at industrial estates, their functional status and employment generation did not exist. Allotment of plots at industrial estates was done arbitrarily and there was no transparency and fairness in evaluation of applications,” it said.
CAG says that while lack of adequate infrastructure delayed industrialisation and employment creation at some industrial estates, considerable revenue was lost due to unrealistic fixation of plot rate and non-recovery of applicable transfer fee and water charges from industrial units.
“Many allottees held plots without utilising it since allotment and indulged in land trading for private gains. The ineptness of the Corporation in acting against defaulters was evident from the fact that about 23 per cent of the land allotted to industrial units remained unutilised or vacant for three years to three decades,” CAG said.
It further says that management control over estate operations was ineffective due to inadequate MIS and internal audit and poor participation of State Government nominees in decision-making process.