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The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has flagged gross fiscal irregularities successful the functioning of the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) successful Karnataka.
The report, tabled successful the Legislative Assembly connected Thursday, noted that the projected Karnataka Sports Act and related regulations person not been enacted adjacent 7 years aft the State introduced a Comprehensive Sports Policy successful 2018 aimed astatine gathering a transparent and inclusive sports ecosystem.
Documents not submitted
According to the report, during 2019–20 to 2023–24, the Sports Authority of Karnataka (SAK) and the General Thimmayya National Academy of Adventure (GETHNAA) received grant-in-aid of ₹83.57 crore and ₹15.85 crore, respectively. However, utilisation certificates and audited expenditure statements for these funds were not submitted.
The audit recovered that the section and GETHNAA disbursed currency awards and scholarships worthy ₹11.47 crore, but supporting documents for payments amounting to ₹8.46 crore were not produced. In addition, irregular currency incentives totalling ₹4.54 crore were paid to 316 sportspersons successful usurpation of strategy guidelines.
E-payment to non beneficiary
Scrutiny of e-payment records further revealed that 62 payments shown arsenic transferred to beneficiaries were alternatively credited to 1 of 3 slope accounts belonging to a idiosyncratic who was not a beneficiary.
The CAG pointed to the mediocre improvement of sports infrastructure. As galore arsenic 57 works worthy ₹45.64 crore remained incomplete, portion 4 projects had not adjacent commenced arsenic of March 2024.
The study observed overcrowding successful sports hostels and an imbalance successful the deployment of coaches, including the lack of athletics coaches successful Bengaluru Urban territory contempt precocious enrolment, portion disposable coaches successful different districts remained underutilised.
It noted that non-implementation of cardinal preventive wellness services during 2018–23 resulted successful the forfeiture of ₹39.84 crore successful grants from the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), depriving beneficiaries of indispensable preventive healthcare services.
Further, integer wellness initiatives specified arsenic telemedicine and the Dhanwantri portal remained underutilised. Full payments were released to contractors without obtaining completion certificates oregon verifying the transportation and operational readiness of aesculapian equipment, resulting successful idle expenditure of ₹7.74 crore, the study said.
