The CAG also stated that there was “lack of transparency” in executing the Abhiyan, a pet project of the Devendra Fadnavis government.

The project was launched in December 2014 and was considered a personal favourite of the former chief minister. Its aim was to make the state drought-free by 2019. The scheme targeted 5,000 villages to be made “drought-proof” annually.

The CAG report was submitted to the state government in June this year and was tabled in the state assembly on September 8.

According to an Indian Express report, the CAG audit report stated, “Despite spending Rs.9,633.75 crore, the Abhiyan (mission) had little impact in achieving water neutrality and increasing ground water level.” 

The report, which was an audit of the government’s performance between January and December 2019 when BJP leader Fadnavis was in power, also stated that there was “inadequate monitoring by the state water conversation department of the project.”

Drought hit Latur district in Marathwada region. 

As per the CAG report, in 82 of the 120 villages picked for the study, the space generated to store the water was insufficient. “It also stated that in 37 of the 83 villages, the shortage was due to less storage created than planned. In most such cases, the shortfall was more than 20%,” the news report said. 

The CAG report noted, “The reasons for the shortfall were curiously absent from relevant reports and were not ascertained by district authorities, defeating the objective of drought-free villages.”

Stating that the district officials “did not get periodical reports to monitor the progress of the implementation” of the Abhiyan, the CAG report observed that none of the 120 villages collected cess towards maintenance and repairs as envisaged in the scheme.

As per news report, the CAG audit also stated that only 29 of the 80 villages which were declared water neutral, actually achieved the status. “In the remaining 51 villages, the storage created was less but [the villages] were declared water neutral nevertheless. Ten villages that were declared as ‘not water neutral’ took no steps to improve water usage efficiency,” the news report stated. 

The audit report also mentioned that the authorities did not upload pictures of ongoing work at various stages, to maintain transparency.

The state has been recording a number of farmer suicides, mainly in the drought-affected Marathwada and Vidarbha region, comprising 19 districts. As per a media report quoting the state’s Relief and Rehabilitation Department, from January to June 2019, around 1,300 farmers took their lives. The number in 2018 was 2,761.