A gup’s office could not withstand a mild

12 May, 2009 - A royal audit authority (RAA) performance report on Chukha dzongkhag says that lack of planning, coordination and monitoring mechanisms has wasted huge government resources.

“Past audit reports have shown many similar financial irregularities and lapses in dzongkhags and so this report looks into the effect of these lapses at the ground level,” said Ugen Chewang. “The observations could be used by the government for better results in the 10th plan.”

The audit found that the 11.25 km of farm roads built in the 9th plan were of poor quality to the extent that commuting was practically impossible in winter. Roads did not have proper drainage and foundation. The farm roads were built without following environmental practices and debris was dumped downhill.

A rural drinking water supply scheme, expected to last around 20 years in Getena gewog, was found to be defunct within the plan period itself. The infrastructure was not sustained, demonstrating failure of the popular notion that communities can manage these schemes, according to RAA.

A community school in Mebesa had the wall of the school collapsing several times not long after it was built. Potholes had also developed on the class floor.

A gup’s office in Sampheling gewog constructed at Nu 1.2m, Nu 0.8m beyond the approved budget, could not stand a mild storm and was rendered unstable. RAA found that the damage was due to poor workmanship in masonry, wood and cement work. The Getana gup’s office, also built in the 9th plan, was poorly maintained.

Without carrying out a proper feasibility study, the suspension bridge, meant to connect two villages, was rendered useless due to rise in river levels covering the track to the bridge. Another suspension bridge could not be built after it was found to be planned in such a way as to face the same problem.

RAA also found development favouring developed gewogs more then undeveloped ones. “Despite some gewogs like Chapcha and Phuentsholing being fairly developed, as compared to Getena, Metakha and Geling, the developmental activities were more in the more developed gewogs.” RAA said that this was leading to an unhealthy rural-urban migration.

There was poor coordination between the centre and the dzongkhag and so the availability of budget at the ministry was not made known while the budget was being prepared at the dzongkhag level. Another example of poor coordination was that the expenditure figures of the dzongkhag for the 9th plan by the dzongkhag and that of the ministry of finance were different.

The existing monitoring system of the Gross National Happiness Commission and the Gewog Tshogdu was found to be inadequate to monitor developmental activities.

The RAA report says that, in spite of having the highest share of road network, hydro projects and contributing 60 percent of the national revenue, Chukha dzongkhag had a high 20.3 percent poverty rate.

By Tenzing Lamsang