Patna, April 6 : Namami Gange, an ambitious Project of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clean river Ganga, was reeling under irregularities in Patna including sub standard construction work and inadequate as well as improper planning leading to unfruitful expenditure of Rs 711.12 crore. According to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General ( CAG) of India relating to Bihar government for the year ended March 31, 2020, the improper planning caused unfruitful expenditure of Rs 711.12 crore. The report said that due to improper planning, intended objective relating to procurement of 455.45 MT DDT and 313.83 MT SP could not be achieved and led to unfruitful expenditure. According to the detailed Compliance Audit on Development of Sewerage Infrastructure in Patna under Namami Gange Programme, the planning was inadequate for sewage treatment of Patna town as the sanctioned capacities of STPs were only able to treat, half of current sewage discharge. The quality of works was found sub-standard and substantive funds were parked in bank accounts. The Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (BUIDCO), the project executing agency, failed to adhere to the stipulated time line for completion of works, as no Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) along with sewerage network was completed till date and the discharge of sewage in Ganga and its tributaries could not be stopped in Patna as desired. The report tabled in Bihar assembly during the recently concluded budget session, revealed that non-adherence of provisions of the IRC in preparation of estimate and unable to take the appropriate decision to raise the height of embankment as pointed out by the contractor’s/local residents resulted in an additional burden of Rs 5.60 crore. The CAG report further added that because of lack of sewerage infrastructure in Bihar (including Patna), the maximum Total Coliform (TC) and Faecal Coliform (FC) which was measured up to the level of 9000 m /100 ml and 3100 m /100 ml in 2016-17 respectively has increased up to 160,000 M /100 ML (for both TC and FC) in 2019-20. The reported sales that it shows the gradual deterioration in water quality during the period. RS BM