The CAG, in its nearly 500-page report, has directed the PAC of Noida Management to reconsider their selection or reject the proposed allotment.
According to a new CAG report, the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (Noida), set up by the Uttar Pradesh government in 1976, has failed to achieve its main objective of industrialization.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India’s “Land Acquisition and Allotment of Property in Noida” has been subject to scathing remarks in the performance audit report tabled in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Friday.
In a note on the allotment of industrial plots, the report said, “The main objective of Noida is to develop the industrial sector. Noida has developed 18.36 percent of the land for industrial use, out of which only 32.91 percent of the area could be made functional by March 2020.
“Thus, the actual functional industrial area was only five per cent of the total area which shows that Noida has failed to achieve its main objective of industrialisation,” the CAG said.
When asked about the audit of the CAG, the Noida authority said that it is yet to study the report, which is about 500 pages and covers the years after 2005.
“Gaps in allocation which were highlighted earlier are now being streamlined. Some of the areas of concern have been pointed out in the draft report, some of which were agreed upon by us while for some others Noida had also submitted counter facts. The final report is yet to be studied,” Noida CEO Ritu Maheshwari told PTI.
“The detailed report is yet to be studied and we will take action as per the directions of the government,” the senior IAS officer said. The CAG report also highlighted prudence in allocation due to lack of parameters.
The audit assessed the reasons, constraints and lapses in the development of the industrial sector and found that the system of allocation was “full of weaknesses”, the report said.
“The allotment was done on the basis of interview of applicants by the PAC (Plot Allotment Committee), which provided a huge amount of discretion to the PAC. No criteria were prescribed for the PAC for evaluating the applicants/projects.
“The PAC considered the application satisfactory or unsatisfactory without giving details of the grounds for its decision. As a result, cases of unfair advantage were noticed in allotments and discretionary allocations were made,” it noted.
The CAG, in its nearly 500-page report, has directed the PAC of Noida Management to reconsider their selection or reject the proposed allotment.
The Government of Uttar Pradesh constituted the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (Noida) in April 1976 under Section 3 of the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Area Development (UPIAD) Act, 1976 with the objective of creating a planned, integrated and modern industrial city. to Delhi.
As per the UPIAD Act, 1976 the object of the Authority shall be to secure the planned development of the Industrial Development Zone. Although Noida has been functioning since April 1976, it was only in July 2017 that the UP government submitted its audit to the CAG. Subsequently, in January 2018, the CAG was appointed by the government as the sole auditor from the year 2005-06, according to the report.
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