Gandhinagar: Gujarat home department has come
under severe criticism in the audit report of Comptroller and
Audit General of India (CAG) which was tabled in the state
assembly on Saturday.
The report dealing with the year ending March 2009,
disclosed delays in preparing perspective plans, under
utilisation of funds and flouting of norms and guidelines in
purchase of vehicles for modernisation of police forces
(MoPF), a central government funded scheme.
The audit covering period 2003-04 to 2008-09, has found
irregularities in purchase of vehicles for police under the
scheme.
The CAG has found that 55 Tavera cars valued at Rs 2.75
crore, were purchased in November 2007, and same were allotted
to the district police superintendent (DSPs), which were in
violation of the scheme guidelines.
The audit authority has also found that the state police
had acute shortage of modern weapons.
"Out of the total 74,577 weapons available (March 2009)
with the police, .303 rifles were 46,357 and .410 muskets were
8805, which were old and archaic and these two sets of
weaponry formed almost 74 per cent of the total weaponry," the
audit report stated.
The audit report said that one of the main objectives of
the scheme was to equip the police force with modern weapons
and it has not been achieved even after lapse of eight years
of the scheme.
The audit report observed that there was overall 60 per
cent shortage of modern weapons in the state.
Apart from the shortage of modern weapons, the audit
authority has also observed shortage of communication
equipment, non availability of usable gas shells, shortage of
staff in Anti terrorist squad (ATS) and shortage of ammunition
in the police department.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, December 19, 2009, 18:31