The Delhi government has not constructed a single toilet under the Swachh Bharat Mission that was launched on October 2, 2014, a Comptroller and Auditor General report said on Tuesday. Funds worth Rs 40.31 crore allocated for this purpose have been left idle in the banks, the report said.
The report was tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday. The Aam Aadmi Party had promised to construct two lakh toilet blocks in slums and unauthorised colonies in its manifesto, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Under the mission, the Centre had released Rs 30.23 crore for construction of toilets. The Delhi government received Rs 2.26 crore in March 2015 and Rs 27.97 crore in November 2015. It released Rs 40.31 crore, including Rs 10.08 crore of the state share, to the implementing agencies in January 2016, whereas, the funds were to be released within 30 days of receipt of the central share along with the state share, the CAG said.
“Audit noted that due to delay in disbursal of fund to the implementing agencies, no amount of mission funds was used in 2015-’16,” it added.
The municipal bodies said they had constructed some toilets out of their own resources under their own sanitation programme, the report said. “Showing expenditure incurred on construction of toilets under their existing sanitation scheme as expenditure incurred under the Mission and enlisting the same as physical target achieved under the Mission is not as per the Mission guidelines,” the CAG said.
The audit report further said that the beneficiaries of the mission of unauthorised colonies were not considered for construction of household toilets. “Most of habitats known for lack of toilet facilities were excluded from the Mission at the planning stage itself,” it added.
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