NEW DELHI: The comptroller and auditor general has taken the Union health ministry to task for having invested Rs 21 crore on installing nearly 22,000 condom vending machines (CVMs), out of which 10,000 were found missing and another 1,100 weren’t working.

Even the sale of condoms after the installation of CVMs, under a National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) project, was found to be way below projections, thus defeating the purpose for which the government had invested such a large sum on the machines, the CAG report said.

“The CVM scheme by NACO was characterized by poor planning and implementation. The ministry did not undertake a comprehensive feasibility study ... Consequently, the project was discontinued by NACO,” the report said.

The sale of condoms through CVMs was low in comparison to NACO’s projections. “The intended objective of improving the accessibility of condoms in high-risk areas through CVMs was not achieved despite an investment of Rs 21.54 crore under the scheme,” CAG pointed out and blasted the health ministry for the hasty release of funds under Phase II without ascertaining the status of CVMs installed earlier.

The installation of CVMs was carried out in a phased manner. In phase-I, Rs 10 crore was released to HLL Lifecare Ltd and all machines were to be installed by September 2005. In phase-II, another Rs 10 crore was released and all CVMs were to be installed by 2008. These machines were to be installed in public places like railway stations, restaurants, bus terminals, cinema houses and red light districts, banks, post offices etc.

Out of 10,990 CVMs to be installed in phase 1, only 1,130 could be traced. “As the CVMs installed were not insured against theft and damage, no recovery could be made in respect of stolen machines,” CAG said. In phase-2, about 10,000 CVMs were to be installed of which only 6,499 were found functional, others missing or damaged or not installed at all.

As against NACO’s estimate of an average sale of six to 35 condoms per day from these machines — depending on areas installed — the actual sale averaged between 0.42 to 1.34 condoms.

“The reason for lower sale of condoms may be attributed partially to the poor maintenance of machines. The ministry failed to assess reasons for poor sale of condoms for taking remedial action,” the CAG observed.