BANGALORE: The existence of large number of vacant technical posts in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services has adversely affected veterinary services in the State.

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the year ending March 2004, which was tabled in the Legislative Assembly, stated that vacant posts ranging from 23 per cent to 92 per cent at different levels in the department had severely affected the delivery of services and raised the risk of the spread of contagious diseases.

The report criticised the functioning of zilla panchayats and said there was unauthorised diversion of Rs. 1.38 crore from one scheme to another and Rs. 1,616.79 crore remained unutilised during 2001-2003. During 2000-03, the percentage of plan receipts showed a fluctuating trend and non-plan expenditure was more than plan expenditure, it said.

Internal controls in zilla panchayats were ineffective and cases of misappropriation involving Rs. 22.06 crore were pending settlement. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana was not implemented properly due to a delay in the constitution of a State-level coordination committee and district programme implementation units, the report said.

In the Hassan Zilla Panchayat, programme implementation was deficient in many ways. There were instances of loss of Rs. 5.41 crore in funds and diversion of Rs. 1.36 crore in the Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana. Medical equipment costing Rs. 55.98 lakh remained idle for want of a specialist to operate it.

The failure of the Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat to ensure proper verification before releasing funds under the Special Component Plan resulted in the misuse of Rs. 10.40 lakh, the report said. An investment of Rs. 1.14 crore was wasted because of the improper design of a bridge-cum-barrage across the Mullamari river in Chincholi taluk, it said.

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