Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pulled up the Assam Electronic Development Corporation (AMTRON) for the delay in completion of the Tech City project in Bongora, Kamrup.
A report by CAG said that due to the non-completion of the project on time, there is already Rs 175.57 crore blocked as investment, without achieving the objective of the project even after more than five years.
AMTRON prepared the DPR of the project in 2018 with a cost of Rs 119 crore, which was sanctioned by the government of India. Subsequently, AMTRON prepared a revised DPR in 2019 at the cost of Rs 607 crore for the entire project to develop the Tech City (incorporating an IT Park costing Rs 487 crore and Rs 119 crore for the electronic manufacturing cluster).
The CAG observed that, of the Rs 607 crore, AMTRON could arrange Rs 176 crore. Of the remaining Rs 431 crore, the corporation was to receive Rs 40 crore from the governments of India and Assam and arranged Rs 390 crore through its own sources, including a bank loan of Rs 300 crore. AMTRON incurred an expenditure of Rs 147 crore against the fund of Rs 176 crore received. The project, started in 2017-18, remained incomplete even after the expiry of more than five years.
The report said that AMTRON tried to justify the delay by saying that the Tech City was a high capital-intensive project where the exact requirement of funds could not be ascertained beforehand; funds from the government were received in a staggered manner, which shifted the entire burden to AMTRON; and stringent banking norms for securing a mortgage against borrowings for such an ambitious project had been a hindrance in securing the funds.
However, the CAG said the reply is not tenable, as the main objective of preparing the DPR is to assess the actual requirement of funds necessary for timely completion of the project. The decision to take up such a huge project without firming up funding sources was not prudent, as the project remained incomplete for five years, and AMTRON could not generate any income to fund its own liability. Further, the funds from the government of India were staggered due to non-fulfilment of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) conditions of the company.
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