Audit Reports
Meghalaya
Report of 2011 - Financial and Performance Audit on Civil and Commercial of Government of Meghalaya
Overview
This Report contains Civil and Commercial chapters comprising three performance reviews (including one on Chief Controlling Officer based audit) and 14 audit paragraphs, based on the audit of certain selected programmes and activities and the financial transactions of the Government, audit of Government Companies and Statutory Corporations. Copies of the audit paragraphs and performance reviews were sent to the concerned Secretaries to the State Government by the Principal Accountant General (Audit) with a request to furnish replies within six weeks. In respect of two reviews in this Report, no response was received from the concerned Secretaries to the State Government.
Pollution control is the process of reducing or eliminating the release of pollutants into the environment. Waste management is the collection, transport, recovery and disposal of waste, including the supervision of such operations and after-care of disposal sites. Government of India, under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 framed (1998-2000) rules to regulate management of municipal solid wastes and bio-medical wastes to protect and improve the environment In Meghalaya, while the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) is primarily responsible for enforcing the Acts and Rules relating to pollution control and waste management the actual implementation of these Acts and Rules is the responsibility of various departments/organisations including Public Health Engineering Department.
Poor compliance with rules by the implementing agencies, viz. municipal boards and the health care establishments coupled with ineffective monitoring by the MSPCB resulted in continued environmental pollution and health hazards leading to increase in the number of patients suffering from air and water borne diseases. The ambient air quality of Shillong city in particular and the State in general is far from satisfactory mainly because of emission of air pollutants from automobiles. The extent of pollution of air caused by 481 polluting industries was not monitored by the MSPCB. Coal mining activities were being carried out in the State without authorisation. Water of 28 out of 31 water bodies of six districts of the State was not fit for drinking. There was no waste processing facilities in four municipal boards or scientific landfills in all the six municipal boards of the State which resulted in open dumping of mixed wastes. In violation of Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 139 (out of 178) health institutions were functioning in the State without authorisation from the MSPCB.