Public Works Department. Photo: Collected
Over Tk 1,500 crore audit objections have been raised in various projects of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works implemented by the Public Works Department (PWD) during the financial year 2021-22. A massive irregularity of this magnitude has been uncovered in the audit report by the Directorate of Works Audit.
A copy of the audit report by the Directorate of Works Audit has been obtained by The Daily Messenger, where it has been seen that the audit objection surrounding a substantial amount of Tk 1,549 crore 99 lakh 54 thousand has been raised in the financial year 2021-22.
According to the audit report, a financial loss of Tk 6 crore 63 lakh 65 thousand 851 has been incurred due to the payment of the bill by recording an excess amount in the bill than the amount mentioned in the bill of quantity (BOQ). This is a violation of Section 127 (2) of PPR-2008, the report said.
It has also been said that Tk 36 lakh 93 thousand 105 of government money has been irregularly spent due to not taking third party expert opinion in the case of variation. This is a violation of Cabinet Division Memorandum No-30, dated 25 January 2021. Apart from this, due to non-insurance on the contract value, the government has suffered a revenue loss of Tk 41 lakh 31 thousand 557 due to VAT on insurance premium. This is a violation of the contract conditions and Rule 4(3)(k) of PPR-2008.
Tk 28 crore 93 lakh 40 thousand 811 has been spent irregularly by calling for tenders in LTM system despite the work not being of a special nature. This is a violation of Rule 61(1)(a) of PPR-2008. Due to non-deduction of income tax at the prescribed rate, the government has suffered a revenue loss of Tk 79 lakh 56 thousand 391. This is a violation of National Board of Revenue (NBR) SRO No-173 and Income Tax Circular.
Besides, the government has suffered a loss of Tk 98 lakh 74 thousand 911 due to deduction of VAT at a lower rate than the prescribed rate. This is a violation of the SRO issued by NBR. Bills of Tk 121 crore 39 lakh 80 thousand 329 have been irregularly paid through handwritten receipts showing fictitious expenses before work. This is in violation of Subsidiary Rules (SR) 249 and 429 of the Treasury Rules.
Before the approval of the variation order, the bill of Tk 4 crore 85 lakh 62 thousand 119 has been irregularly paid to the contractor. This is a violation of Rule 79(1)(2) of PPR-2008 and the General Financial Rules (GFR)-10. Without the approval of the Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance, the bill of one financial year has been irregularly paid in another financial year amounting to Tk 28 lakh 67 thousand 930, which is a violation of the internal audit department memorandum.
Tk 98 lakh 16 thousand 364 has been incurred in payment of bills by showing that work has been completed despite not actually doing the work. This is a violation of GFR-10. A financial loss of Tk 2 crore 71 lakh 71 thousand 517 has been caused due to the declaration of unclaimed security deposits and not depositing them in the government treasury. This is a violation of the Central Public Works Accounts (CPWA) Code 399, 400, and 403.
Due to non-collection of Liquidated Damages (LD) from the contractor who failed to perform the work within the stipulated time, the financial loss to the government was Tk 2 crore 98 lakh 38 thousand 499. This is a violation of the General Conditions of Contract (GCC) clauses 73 and 73.1 and Rule 39 (27 and 28) of PPR-2008. Tk 16 crore 25 lakh 22 thousand 938 have been irregularly deducted as additional security money in the name of paying the bill to the contractor in order to avoid fraud at the end of the financial year. This is a violation of Rule 28(1) of PPR 2008.
As per the rules of PPR-2008 and sub-delegation to the PWD, the estimate of Tk 1,281 crore 96 lakh 45 thousand 567 has been irregularly approved by splitting the same work into parts to evade the obligation of approval from higher authorities. This is a violation of Rule 17(1) of PPR-2008 and the sub-delegation of financial powers to engineers at different levels of the PWD, the audit report said.
Tk 60 lakh 66 thousand 514 has irregularly been spent in excess of the annual ceiling limit in the Request for Quotation (RFQ) system, ignoring PPR-2008 rules. This is a violation of sub-rule 1 of rule 69 of PPR-2008.
Tk 3 crore 90 lakh 65 thousand has irregularly been spent by issuing work orders at a higher price than the cost mentioned in the Development Project Proposal (DPP)/Revised DPP (RDPP). The audit comments in this regard are that the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has irregularly allowed spending by executing the contract in excess of the cost provided in the approved DPP/RDPP.
Exceeding the annual ceiling on vehicle repairs has caused a financial loss of Tk 6 lakh 73 thousand 958 to the government. This is a violation of the Delegation of Financial Powers Serial No. 10(a). As a result of executing contracts without allotment letters, liabilities of Tk 79 lakh 4 thousand 414 have irregularly been created. This is a violation of Para-32 of the CPWA Code and Section 11(2) of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2006.
Tk 1 crore 12 lakh 24 thousand 383 have been irregularly paid without maintaining stock entry registers, distribution registers, and dead stock registers for purchased goods. In this regard, the audit report has commented, “The purchased goods have not been registered in the stock entry register, and no account has been kept of the old goods received from the replacement work.”
Due to non-payment of lease dues of Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, there has been a revenue loss of Tk 66 crore 82 lakh, which violates clause 46 of the terms of lease and clause 27 (a) of the terms of reference of the agreement. The government has incurred a financial loss of Tk 66 crore 82 lakh, which is a violation of Para-10 of Section 1 of the GFR.
A financial loss of Tk 11 lakh 35 thousand 159 has been incurred by the government due to low rent collection from abandoned houses, violating two memorandums of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works. An estimate of Tk 2 crore 4 lakh 1 thousand 896 out of financial capacity has been irregularly approved, which violates a memorandum dated May 20, 2019, of the Office of the Chief Engineer.
Tk 11 lakh 99 thousand 730 has been incurred in payment of bills to the contractor for the supply of fans without mentioning specific premises/houses, violating Para-10 of Section 1 of the GFR. Tk 45 lakh 47 thousand have been irregularly spent by the government, showing that the original work has been done by means of repair work, which violates Rule 23 of the GFR.
Tk 4 lakh 31 thousand financial losses to the government have been incurred for recommending approval of variation involving the unnecessary use of additional ST cable without the design of electrical works. The audit report mentions that estimates should be prepared based on approved drawings and designs as per Sections 81 and 83 of the CDWD Code.
Regarding the complaints, Syed Mahbub Morshed, the superintendent engineer of the monitoring and audit circle of PWD, told The Daily Messenger, “It is an ongoing process. The audit objections raised in the projects are answered. If you are not satisfied with them, objections come again, and we answer. Our job is to send the field-level reply to the audit office and deliver the audit office letter to the field level."
According to PWD sources, it takes a long time to respond and dispose of any audit objection. There is also a precedent of 30-year-old audit objections still not being resolved. Currently, there are about 8 thousand audit objections for various works of PWD, with no visible precedent of punishment for these objections.
However, an official of the audit department, on the condition of anonymity, told The Daily Messenger, “Once audit objections are raised, they are asked to respond within 20 working days to resolve the objections. If the objection is not resolved within 20 working days, another 7 working days is given. If no response is received within that time, it is referred to a parliamentary committee for disposal. These audit objections of the Public Works Department are now in the process of going to the parliamentary committee.”
Meanwhile, the audit report has also recommended action against those responsible by collecting and depositing the objectionable amount. It has been asked to send the objectionable amount to the audit office along with proof of collection and deposit in the government treasury.
Awaiting the amount mentioned in the BOQ, the excess amount has been recorded in the bill, and the reply has been asked to collect the money and reply with proof. Departmental action has also been recommended against the person or persons involved in the irregular expenditure of the Government.
The audit office has also been asked to reply with proof of VAT recovery. The Audit Office has been asked to explain the work by inviting tenders under the LTM system despite the fact that the work is not of a special nature. Besides, the audit office has also been asked to explain the irregularities found in writing.
Messenger/Disha
