India, Feb. 20 -- Government functioning can sometimes leave one dumbfounded. In a glaring example of administrative oversight, Haryana's women and child development (WCD) department went ahead and purchased 4,000 electric ultraviolet water purifiers (EUWPs) for play schools without first ensuring that these institutions had basic infrastructure, such as water tanks and electricity connections, to make the units functional.

A compliance audit by the comptroller and auditor general (CAG), tabled in the state assembly on Friday, revealed that the department procured the units in October 2021 at a rate of Rs.4,871 per unit from an Odisha-based firm. While the entire consignment was supplied by January 2022 and Rs.1.95 crore was paid by Marc...