CAG flags ₹32,000 crore 'inflation' in Bengal's Amphan damage claims

Kolkata: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has flagged alleged large-scale financial irregularities in the handling of Cyclone Amphan relief and rehabilitation in West Bengal, claiming that the then Trinamool Congress (TMC) government inflated damage estimates by nearly ₹32,000 crore while seeking financial assistance from the Centre.

The findings, contained in a CAG report tabled on July 25, have reignited a political confrontation between the ruling BJP and the TMC, with the saffron party accusing the latter of siphoning off relief funds and the TMC questioning the report's objectivity.

According to the report, the state government allegedly overstated losses related to infrastructure, particularly river embankments in the Sundarbans and damage to residential houses, while seeking central assistance after Super Cyclone Amphan devastated coastal West Bengal in 2020.

The CAG also pointed to financial discrepancies involving ₹125.07 crore across 1,44,175 bank accounts.

It alleged that relief and compensation funds meant for cyclone victims were transferred to bank accounts linked to relatives, family members and associates of politically influential individuals instead of genuine beneficiaries.

Another key finding relates to housing assistance. The report alleged that ₹18.07 crore was credited multiple times to 9,226 fake or duplicate beneficiaries under schemes meant for house construction and embankment relocation.

In another instance, the audit found that a beneficiary list prepared for Cyclone Bulbul in 2019 was used to distribute ₹2.82 crore meant for Amphan victims in 2020.

According to the report, 5,627 people received payments based on the outdated list.

Beyond financial irregularities, the CAG highlighted concerns over the quality of embankment reconstruction in the Sundarbans. It said several embankments were constructed with inner slopes that were narrower and lower than the specifications approved in the Detailed Project Report (DPR), raising questions over their durability.

The report also alleged that contractors used thinner-than-required layers of stone pitching along erosion-prone riverbanks, increasing the risk of embankment failures during high tides.

Despite the utilisation of sanctioned funds, more than half of the crucial embankment repair work in vulnerable areas such as Gosaba, Sagar, Basanti, Kultali and Canning remained incomplete, the audit noted.

It further criticised the state's implementation of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, saying funds were transferred without a robust verification or monitoring mechanism, creating scope for irregularities.

The report also alleged that unauthorised road and embankment construction led to the illegal clearing of protective mangrove forests, worsening coastal erosion.

The report has sparked anger among residents of the Sundarbans. One affected woman, speaking to reporters, said her family never received even a tarpaulin after their house wall collapsed during the cyclone.

'Only we know how we survived with our children,' she said, demanding action against those responsible.

Reacting to the report, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee declined to comment, saying former ministers such as Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas and Javed Khan were better placed to respond.

TMC leader Kunal Ghosh questioned the report's neutrality, saying it should be examined whether the CAG had selectively presented information and whether certain departments had been left out of the audit.

The BJP, meanwhile, launched a sharp attack on the TMC. State BJP chief spokesperson Debjit Sarkar alleged that relief funds sent by the Centre had been misappropriated and demanded strict punishment for those found guilty.

The CAG findings are likely to intensify the political battle in West Bengal, with the audit report expected to remain a key flashpoint between the TMC and the BJP in the coming days.