Bengaluru: The Comptroller and Auditor General report tabled by Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar in the state assembly on Monday found several glaring lapses in the functioning of the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), including undue favour to contractors leading to losses to the state exchequer.
The CAG report covers the audit report of five years from 2019-20 to 2023-24. The BJP headed the government from 2019 to 2023 while the Congress came to power in 2023.
The CAG said the PWD, which is responsible for planning and executing road works, did not always follow the standards prescribed by the Indian Roads Congress, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and the Karnataka PWD Code.
The board faced strong criticism for extended delays between preliminary and final land acquisition notifications. Inordinate delays led to high-profile litigation and court-ordered cancellations of land acquisition packages, disrupting industrial timelines.
The judiciary and audit observations heavily penalized the board for withholding farmers’ compensation for prolonged periods (sometimes exceeding a decade), leading to revised re-fixation costs and financial penalties.
Systemic gaps persist in the verification processes for land use, coupled with a failure to strictly enforce basic infrastructure readiness before industrial plots are handed over to allottees.
