SHILLONG, June 13 – The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has rapped the Meghalaya AIDS Control Society for the latter’s “failure” to utilise 79-80 per cent of funds available during 2001-03, affecting implementation of national AIDS control project in the state, reports PTI. In its report for year ended March 31, 2003, the CAG said the NACP was fully funded by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) of the Centre to combat the onslaught of HIV/AIDS epidemic and funds were released by NACO directly to the society in a phased manner.
The CAG said the society’s non-utilisation of 79-80 per cent of funds in 2001-02 and 2002-03 indicated “ineffective implementation” of the project in the state. The CAG report was tabled in the Assembly on Friday. Besides, the IEC and blood safety, the approved annual action plan (aap) of the society provided for implementation of other items like school AIDS education programme, voluntary testing and counselling, including purchase of consumables under the component “preventive intervention for the general community”.
But no expenditure on these items was incurred by the society during those two years, it said adding reasons for 'ignoring' the vital aspects of the project were 'not on records'. The cag said during August and November 2001 to June 2002, the naco supplied various equipment to the zonal blood testing centre, Shillong and Civil Hospital, Tura, for setting up blood component seperation unit and a new blood bank respectively.
But none of these equipment could be installed by the insitutions concerned due to “lack of space and proper power supply”. Consequently, the gadgets were lying “idle”. “This indicated that there was little initiative on the part of the society for promotion of rational use of blood...,” the report said. According to the approved app for the two fiscals, Rs 24.6 lakh were allotted by the naco for imparting training of manpow er. Of this, the society utilised only Rs 1.83 lakh. Reasons for failure in spending 93 per cent of alloted funds affecting the programme management were not on records, it said.
The cag said although the naco alloted Rs 10 lakh during 2001-03 for “intersectoral collaboration” aiming to promote close cooperation among the public, private and voluntary sectors for innovative hiv/aids programmes, no expenditure was incurred by the society under this component. The society in June 2003 stated there was no participation of ngos in implementing the programme.