Odisha’s Thar vehicles bought, modified with disaster response funds: CAG audit

THe Comptroller and Auditor superior general (CAG) of republic of india, in its scrutinize, has flagged irregularities in the Odisha timberland, surround and climate change department’s purchase of all-terrain vehicles, saying funds meant for disaster preparedness were misused in violation of guidelines.In December last year, state forest and environment minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia had ordered a special audit by the Accountant General (A&E) to verify whether due procedures were followed in the customisation of 51 all-terrain vehicles.In a letter to the chief secretary, the principal accountant general in the CAG office said the special audit found that the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) sanctioned ₹28.45 crore in July 2024 from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to the principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) for capacity building, including the purchase of Thar jeeps for forest protection. Of that amount, ₹17 crore was spent on procurement and modification of the vehicles, while utilisation of the remaining amount was not accounted for.The audit said that the use of SDRF funds for establishment-related expenses or routine departmental procurement such as vehicles was in violation of the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It also said the SRC was not the competent authority to approve such expenditure, which required recommendations from the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) and approval of the state executive committee headed by the chief secretary.HT has reviewed the letter written by the principal accountant general to the chief secretary on the special audit.The forest and environment department had bought 51 Thar vehicles during the 2024–25 financial year and spent on modifications, estimated at about ₹10 lakh per vehicle, to enhance patrolling, surveillance and emergency response. The high customisation costs of the vehicles triggered protests from the opposition, which alleged that the modifications exceeded operational requirements.Auditors also said the forest department had surrendered ₹338 crore, funds that could have been re-appropriated for vehicle purchases instead of diverting SDRF resources.“These indicate a serious breakdown of internal controls, supervisory failures, and system weaknesses in financial management, which require urgent intervention at the highest level,” the principal accountant general wrote.