CAG audit flags Sports Authority of India’s infrastructure projects

Tribune News Service

Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, September 26

The Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) initial performance audit report of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has raised a lot of flags about how the body awards infrastructure projects.

The audit covered the period from 2017 to 2022, during which SAI undertook 128 infrastructure projects worth Rs 1,239 crore.

The report, accessed by The Tribune, is a big slap on the wrist of an organisation that prides itself on nurturing talent by providing infrastructure and coaching facilities. While SAI director general Sandip Pradhan refused to come on record about this report, a senior official said the body has all the answers for the auditors and that one should not jump to any conclusion based on the initial report. “Wait for the final report,” he said.

In March 2019, the Departmental Project Approval Committee (DPAC), under the Khelo India Scheme, decided to construct four 300-bed hostels in the SAI regional centres in Bhopal, Imphal, Sonepat and Thiruvananthapuram at an approximate cost of Rs 44 crore.

When SAI submitted its initial proposal, the cost increased to Rs 70.88 crore. The Sports Ministry approved the proposal with a rider that construction could only be undertaken after obtaining location specific approval for each hostel with finalised estimates, drawings and designs. In the final proposal, which was submitted in June 2019, the estimate was hiked to Rs 126.96 crore.

Similarly, DPAC approved a proposal to construct 300-bed hostels at 10 places at a total cost of Rs 267.70 crore. From the list, Mumbai and Guwahati were removed, while the Army Sports Institute Pune and STC Dhenkanal were added. The Dharamsala hostel was cancelled due to the non-availability of land, while the hostel at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was also cancelled due to major revision in the scope of work. Also, SAI conducted no survey regarding the requirement of infrastructure. “In none of the projects selected for the check, neither the copies of contract, issued to the contractors by the PMCs (Professional Management Contractors) nor any tender documents were found on record. This is a glaring mistake on part of the SAI being the owner of land and the project. It was unaware of the details and terms of contracts on which work was awarded to the contractor by PMC,” the report reads.

The report also flags the manner in which SAI agreed to increase the Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam’s (UPRNN) professional management charges from 2.99 per cent to 6.60 per cent for the construction of a 100-bed hostel at the Jawaharlal Lal Nehru Stadium.

“The project was completed in December 2020 but neither any completion certificate/document nor any final bills for the works were found on record,” the report read.

Stalled/Abandoned Projects

Synthetic athletics track in Tinsukhia

(Assam): The Rs 7 crore project was to be completed by July 2018. Inspection in August 2021 revealed only 10 per cent of work was completed. SAI has already paid Rs 6 crore.

Synthetic athletics track in Dimapur

(Nagaland): The Rs 8.43 crore project was approved in 2017. While SAI claimed that 80 per cent of the work was completed, inspection showed that the track has not been laid yet and drainage work is incomplete.

Fencing hall in Aurangabad

(Maharashtra): Changes in design after completion of 30 per cent of work raised the cost of the project from Rs 1.51 crore to Rs 1.99 crore.

FINA-standard pool in Aurangabad: Built at a cost of Rs 10.30 crore, the pool is lying idle due to flaws in the water treatment plant. This was an ill-conceived project as the area has faced acute water shortage for decades.

Multipurpose hall in Hazaribagh

(Jharkhand): The Rs 4.46 crore project was handed over in 2010 but remains non-functional. The wooden floor, electrical wiring and furniture are all damaged. The surrounding is overgrown with bushes and infested with snakes.

Multipurpose hall in Kotputli

(Rajasthan): The Rs 3.12 crore project was handed over in February 2020 after a delay of 25 months. It has a metal roof with a false ceiling. The doors and half of the ceiling have fallen off.

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