Central Audit Body Pulls Up State Govt & Departments For Huge Losses Incurred Jaipur: Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Limited (RSMML), a public sector undertaking of the state government, has incurred a loss of Rs 1.10 crore for non-compliance of legal requirements which led to unproductive expenditure towards land tax and dead rent. It also incurred loss of Rs. 1.92 core for keeping 12 areas without any plan to undertake mining having paid premium charges on it. According to the CAG report, the strategic business unit and profit centre of RSMML in Bikaner, which is engaged in mining and marketing of gypsum mineral, could not surrender the Kaonee and Kundal mines till March 2011 despite the fact that the mines were exhausted in January 2006 itself. For keeping the mines for the period from 2006 to 2011, the company had to pay Rs 1.10 crore towards dead rent and land tax on these mines. “Kundal mine was not transferred in the name of the company after its amalgamation with Rajasthan State Mineral Development Corporation in 2001 which prevented it from surrendering to the department of mines and geology (DMG). In case of Kaonee mine, the state government surrendered the application on January 9, 2009 but was rejected for nonsubmission of progressive mine closure plan as required under rules,” the CAG report said. The report further suggests that the company was not vigilant towards statutory compliance and incurred unproductive expenditure. The state government while accepting the facts on September 2011 stated that the lease of Kaonee mine was cancelled by the DMG after forfeiting the security deposit in April 2011 while the matter on Kundal mine was taken up with DMG. The Central audit body also pulled up the company for weak project management planning and apathetic attitude shown to safeguard its financial interests. “The weak project planning coupled with defective financial management led to unproductive expenditure of Rs 1.92 crore towards payment of minimum premium charges without mining activity on 12 areas,” it noted. The company accepted 27 areas of five hectare each from state government on agency basis for gypsum excavation in Bikaner, Hanumangarh, Sriganganagar and Nagaur districts for a period of five years in 2005. But on scrutiny in January 2011, it was revealed that company never undertook mining operations in six areas of Bikaner district and even did not take possession of another six areas of Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar districts. BJP corners govt with CAG report Commenting on the CAG report, the BJP on Sunday took a dig on the Gehlot government and asserted that the state government should concentrate on monitoring the implementation of the ongoing schemes rather than beating drums on the new and flagship programmes announced recently in the budget. “This time, the failure and the lack of transparency have been questioned by the Constitutional body and not by us,” BJP spokesperson Jyoti Kiran said. TNN