CAG: Poor contract management delayed Indo-Nepal road projects, raised cost
The performance audit of the Indo-Nepal border roads project between 2010-2018-19 brings out inadequacies in planning and financial management, which, coupled with poor contract management and execution of works led to undue delays and cost enhancement.
In a report submitted to the Parliament, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said that the Central government in November 2010 took up the construction of 1,377 km of roads along the Indo-Nepal Border in Bihar (564 km), Uttar Pradesh (640 km) and Uttarakhand (173 km) at a cost of Rs 3,853 crore.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released the funds aggregating Rs 1,709.17 crore to these states as of March 31, 2021. The timeline for completion of the project was March 2016, but it was subsequently extended to December 2022.
