Bhubaneswar, April 16 -- The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, in its audit, has flagged irregularities in the Odisha forest, environment and climate change department's purchase of all-terrain vehicles, saying funds meant for disaster preparedness were misused in violation of guidelines.

In December last year, state forest and environment minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia had ordered a special audit by the Accountant General (A&E) to verify whether due procedures were followed in the customisation of 51 all-terrain vehicles.

In a letter to the chief secretary, the principal accountant general in the CAG office said the special audit found that the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) sanctioned Rs.28.45 crore in July 2024 fr...