CITCO's negligence and wrong policy decisions have caused huge economic losses.
Rajesh Dhall, Chandigarh. The negligence and wrong policy decisions of Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation Limited (CITCO) have caused huge economic losses. This has been revealed in the audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in which a loss of more than Rs 10 crore has been claimed.
RTI activist RK Garg has obtained this report under Right to Information. The CAG Inspection Report 2023-24, released in response to RTI, has revealed that the corporation has suffered losses worth crores of rupees at various levels.
According to the report, due to CITCO's own online booking facility being stalled, the corporation had to pay about Rs 2.08 crore as commission to third party booking platforms (MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, Booking.com etc.) in three years.
CITCO is currently running hotels Mountview, Parkview and Shivalikview. The audit found that this amount could have been saved if the corporation had its own booking system in place. Similarly, the corporation suffered a loss of Rs 1.42 crore due to deployment of additional staff despite zero sales in the steel depot.
The report states that despite there being no sales in the last two years, 10 employees were kept posted here. Citco suffered a loss of Rs 37.87 lakh due to the wrong decision of running the bakery itself instead of renting shop number 6 in the cafeteria located at Sukhna Lake. Whereas this shop was ready to be taken over by private company Punjab Agro.
Zero sales in steel depot, yet 10 employees deployed
There was no sale in the steel depot operated under the Industrial Development Wing in the year 2024-25, whereas in 2023-24 there was a margin of only Rs 4.43 lakh. Despite this, deployment of 10 employees continued here. The corporation has suffered a loss of Rs 1.42 crore in the last two years due to salaries and other expenses. The audit has pointed out the need for better utilization of vacant space and resources.
The decision to run a bakery on Sukhna Lake proved costly
The decision to run the bakery on its own instead of renting out the cafeteria shop number 6 located at Sukhna Lake also proved to be a loss-making deal. While the monthly reserve rent of this shop was fixed at Rs 1.5 lakh, the corporation incurred a direct loss of Rs 3.30 lakh in operation. Also, Rs 28.50 lakh was spent on rent and Rs 6.07 lakh was spent on interior and equipment. Overall this decision resulted in a loss of Rs 37.87 lakh.
Burden of Rs 5.78 crore on Delhi Guest House
The UT Guest House in New Delhi is being managed by CITCO for the Chandigarh Administration without any formal agreement. From the year 2011-12 to 2023-24, Rs 4.39 crore was spent on this, from which there was no recovery. Apart from this, the total financial impact including interest loss has been estimated at Rs 5.78 crore.
Revenue loss of Rs 53.56 lakh due to empty shops
The audit also revealed that many shops in Citco hotels, petrol pumps and Sukhna Lake food court were lying vacant for years. Due to not starting the lease process on time, the corporation suffered a potential rental loss of Rs 53.56 lakh. Non-opening of a separate bank account for the Grant-in-Aid received for the Industrial Development Center has also been recorded in the audit as a serious financial irregularity, which is a violation of General Financial Rules (GFR 2017).
Old audit paragraphs still pending
The report also mentions that 76 audit paragraphs relating to the year 1994-95 are still pending, including matters relating to irregular appointments, unnecessary expenditure and losses running into crores. The audit has recommended that CITCO should take immediate corrective steps by activating the online system, reviewing unproductive units and ensuring utilization of vacant properties in a time bound manner to increase revenue.