The audit was conducted to assess whether the steps taken by the government agencies and the municipal corporations to control dengue were adequate and effective.
Pointing out irregularities in the functioning of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled municipal corporations in Delhi, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its report, pulled up the civic bodies for not taking effective measures during the dengue outbreak even though they had adequate funds.
The CAG report tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Friday said that the municipal bodies spent Rs 109.43 crore between 2013 and 2015 on domestic breeding-checkers, without any supervision or assessment of the work done.
The audit was conducted to assess whether the steps taken by the government agencies and the municipal corporations to control dengue were adequate and effective.
"Despite the recurrence of dengue in the Capital over the years, and the spike in number of cases as well as mortalities in 2015, the steps taken by the departments as well as the municipal corporations were not commensurate with the magnitude of the problem, even though the funds were not a constraint," the report stated.
According to the data shared by the Centre in Parliament, the viral disease, which is transmitted through the bite of the female Aedes mosquito, claimed 60 lives in Delhi in 2015, recording a sharp rise over previous years.
Among the institutional gaps that the CAG report pointed out was the lack of an effective surveillance mechanism. Only 289 out of 967 reporting units (30 per cent) reported dengue data to the State Surveillance Unit, thereby undermining its objective, the CAG report stated.
"Expenditure totalling Rs 42.85 crore was incurred on anti-mosquito operations, which included techniques and chemical formulations that were not prescribed or recommended. In addition, there was no record of usage of insecticides valued at Rs 79.76 lakh," it added.
The watchdog also pulled up the Delhi government for spending Rs 10.04 crore in 2013-15 on awareness campaigns for prevention of dengue after its outbreak, thereby "defeating" its purpose.
"The civic bodies and the NDMC undertook thermal outdoor fogging during the dengue season during 2013-15 at a cost of Rs 95.10 lakh as a routine exercise without exploring the possibility of adoption of Ultra Low Volume (ULV) spray, which is more cost-effective," it said.
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