AGARTALA / KAMALPUR, October 27 (TIWN) : The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, found massive irregularities and unwarranted delay in the scheme of imparting ‘Information and Communication’ education to the school children. This fact has come out in the report of the CAG ( Report 1of Govt. of Tripura, 2014) brought out after auditing for the fiscal 2012-13.The Government of India provided financial assistance of 53.60 crore rupees for 400 schools at an average of 13.40 lakhs per school. But the School Education Department provided the private agencies a rate of 8.50 lakhs per school for 150 schools and 8.04 lakhs per school for 250 schools. The report claims that, this resulted into “ a savings of 20.75 crores.” More seriously, this matter was neither intimated to the Ministry of Human Resource Development Department, Govt. of India nor was its impact or utilization assessed by the Department. Now the question is, what was done with this Rs 20.75 crores unaccounted money ? The report also notices the department’s delay in implementation of the scheme in 282 schools approved I November 2010 for the period 2010-15. Not only delay in implementation, but the CAG report shows , how the School Education Department vanished crores of rupees by providing the agencies less than Central Govt. fixed rate.

In the report, the CAG sums up as “… there had been inordinate delay in implementation of the scheme, i.e., two years delay in respect of 200 schools and five years delay in respect of 50 schools, leading to non-achievement of the target set for the scheme period of 2007-12.” 

But, the tragedy is who will ask the question to the administration?

It is notable that, in December 2004, the Govt.of India, Ministry of HRD, initiated the scheme “Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Schools.” The State Govt. set the plan for the state in November,2006. Then in three phases total 682 schools in Tripura were selected for the scheme and the Central provided with due funding.

Supporting Documents of CAG report. TIWN Pic Oct 26