• Although the ministry of non-conventional energy sources spent Rs 69 crore -- 62 per cent of its expenditure on solar energy programmes -- on installing solar photovoltaic devices during 1986-92, evaluation studies indicate most of the units are not functioning because of "lack of proper maintenance, poor performance of the systems and apathy of local users".

• Because of inadequate pre-commissioning surveys for a project to check Delhi's contribution to the pollution of the Yamuna river, the water quality monitoring station at the downstream Okhla site was found incapable of dealing with the heavy downstream effluent load. The station was then moved upstream where a similar plant already exists.

• Final project costs and the likely completion date of the fast breeder test reactor at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research at Kalpakkam, which was expected to be commissioned in 1976, are still undecided though an expenditure of Rs 91 crore had already been incurred by March 1992.

• The Central Building Research Institute spent Rs 25 crore during 1985-92 to develop 34 technological processes for use by the construction industry. All 34 were rejected by the industry as they were either already available or were obsolete.