CAG flags misuse of disaster relief fund in five Himachal districts

Large-scale irregularities amounting to Rs 22.61 crore in the utilisation of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) across five districts of Himachal Pradesh have been exposed in the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) for the period ending March 2022. The findings were presented in the Vidhan Sabha on Friday by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

The audit, covering sanctions issued between December 2016 and May 2021, found that the state-level committee responsible for overseeing SDRF allocations failed to ensure adherence to the Government of India’s strict utilisation guidelines. SDRF funds are meant solely for immediate relief to victims of defined natural calamities, yet officials in Chamba, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmour and Solan authorised expenditures far outside the permissible scope.

According to the report, Deputy Commissioners in these districts sanctioned Rs 10.23 crore for 823 inadmissible works. These included repairs of government offices, residential quarters, court complexes, playgrounds and construction of protection walls and wire crates, activities explicitly barred under SDRF norms.

The audit also highlighted that Rs 3.37 crore was sanctioned in Chamba, Mandi and Solan without the mandatory damage assessment reports from revenue authorities. In another glaring violation, Chamba and Sirmour districts released Rs 1.76 crore for eight bridge repair works despite executive agencies confirming that no disaster-related damage had occurred.

A major deviation was reported in Sirmour, where the Deputy Commissioner approved Rs 7.25 crore in lump sum to 17 executing agencies without detailing the nature of works or securing damage reports, significantly heightening the risk of misuse.

The CAG observed that the state-level committee had not established any effective monitoring or reporting mechanism to prevent such diversions. Similar shortcomings flagged in earlier audit reports for 2014-2017 also remained unaddressed, even after the Public Accounts Committee instructed strict compliance.

District officials defended their actions by citing the need to prevent damage to public property and ensure smooth functioning of government offices. The audit dismissed these explanations as inconsistent with SDRF rules. The Deputy Commissioner of Mandi did not submit any response.

Despite being notified of the findings in January 2023, the state government had not responded as of January 2025. The CAG has recommended tightening sanctioning processes and enforcing strict compliance with disaster management norms.