CAG said in 56 per cent of the cases, approval of the

competent authority was not obtained for the actual number of trees cut by the Project Proponents (PPs) while groundwater was used without permission in 19 per cent of the cases.

"The annual environmental audit report was not submitted by PPs to State Pollution Control Boards in 19 per cent of the cases and in seven per cent of such cases construction or operations was commenced before grant of EC," it observed.

The CAG found absence of preparation and maintenance of action plan for conservation of flora and fauna in 57 per cent of the cases.

Construction of rainwater harvesting structures was not done in 29 per cent of the cases while shortfall in relief and rehabilitation measures for people affected by projects was observed in 22 per cent of the cases, it found.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)