Union Power Ministry denies irregularity
Auditor says documentary support provided for only Rs 0.09 cr of works
Srinagar, Dec 23: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has revealed that Rs 27.59 crore were spent in Jammu & Kashmir, including Ladakh, on unapproved works under an ambitious scheme of the Union Power Ministry.
The audit report, tabled in Parliament on December 18, 2025, states that an expenditure of Rs 27.59 crore across seven projects was booked for works that were not approved in the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs), resulting in the execution of ineligible works under the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) in Jammu & Kashmir including Ladakh.
“SAUBHAGYA guidelines required DISCOMs to ensure that funds received by them were utilized strictly for the purposes for which they were released and not diverted elsewhere. Audit, however, observed that District Divisional Authorities of Jammu & Kashmir booked an expenditure of Rs 27.59 crore in seven projects on account of execution of works which were not approved in the DPRs, resulting in ineligible works under the scheme,” the report notes, as accessed by news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO)
According to the report, the Union Power Ministry, in its response to audit observations, claimed that there was no irregular expenditure.
“MoP stated (June 2022) that in respect of KPDCL, no irregular expenditure or ineligible works were included in the closure of schemes, as closure was approved by REC after scrutiny as per the guidelines and approval of the Monitoring Committee. Regarding JPDCL, the closure for the scheme has been submitted and only those works which were complete in all respects had been loaded on the scheme fund,” the report adds.
However, the audit pointed out that the Ministry provided a closure report for only one division, showing spending of just Rs 0.09 crore, but didn’t provide supporting documents for the remaining amount.
“In response to the Audit Rebuttal, MoP provided the closure report covering only one division portion that incurred expenditure of Rs 0.09 crore. In respect of the balance portion, no document in support of the reply was provided to Audit,” the report states.
The SAUBHAGYA scheme was launched by the Union Government in October 2017 to provide last-mile connectivity and electricity connections to all un-electrified households across the country. (KNO)
