After six years TWAD board yet to go online due to irregularities

Chennai:

The computerization of Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board remained incomplete even after six years with a cost overrun of Rs 76.40 lakh on the software development, according to a Comptroller and Auditor General of India report.

The report stated that TWAD in 2005 resolved to introduce an integrated online computer system named TWAD Integrated e-Governance System (TWADNEST) encompassing all its administrative and functional activities.

Funded wholly by Union government under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, development of TWADNEST was entrusted to National Informatics Centre (NIC), Chennai.

Interestingly, a performance audit revealed that as of May 2011, an amount of Rs 92.50 lakh had been deposited with National Informatics Centre, Chennai without getting the final product.

The report revealed that in contravention of the guidelines, computers and infrastructure valued at Rs 3.22 crore were procured even before the TWADNEST was developed. The computers and other equipment are likely to become obsolete due to passage of time, the report said.

The report also stated that project monitoring software representing the core activity of the board was not developed by national informatics commission. “Data relating to few modules of TWADNEST under implementation lacked integrity due to absence or failure of controls.