Saturday, December 24, 2011

‘Kalmadi flouted rules during Youth CWG’

NAGPUR: There's more dirt on Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi who is cooling his heels in Tihar jail after a scam was unearthed in the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has said that rules and regulations were blatantly flouted even during the Commonwealth Youth Games held in Pune in 2008.

In a report, which was tabled before the state legislative assembly on Friday - the final day of the winter session, CAG said that awarding contracts for construction and refurbishment of the sports complex and procurement of electronic, sports, and other equipment had many instances of malpractice. The Shiv Sena has demanded an enquiry into the matter.

The CAG has said that on account of deficient planning and escalation in contract costs, the amount spent for venues and equipment, city infrastructure and security aspects (Rs 1190 cr) was several times higher than the original project estimates. There were hushed tones that said that it was as much as 85% higher than what was projected.

The report states that while nearly Rs 700 cr were spent for infrastructural facilities by the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporations, a large number of projects could not be completed in time. The report also raises questions over the procedures adopted for the appointment of the main contractor - BG Shirke Constructions Private Ltd - for the development of the venue.

It has termed the changes in scope of work allotted to the contractor at a later stage as "irregular". It has said that excess payment was made to the contractor for installation of elevators and has even questioned excess expenditure of Rs 2.2 cr on procurement of turf flooring for the badminton hall and the tennis court.

Also, the procurement process for sports and other equipment lacked transparency. The procurements of equipment for shooting, trap and skeet, athletics, table tennis among others, were undertaken without tendering and excess equipment was procured.

Commencement of work without ensuring clear sites resulted in avoidable expenditure of Rs 177cr. Road works worth Rs 42 crore were irregularly awarded by Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. The CAG has stated that the executive committee (EC) of the games totally disregarded laws while allowing a construction of a three-star hotel on public-private partnership basis (PPP) basis. Pointing out serious deficiency in this regard, it has claimed that the land on which the hotel was built was located in a public-semi-public zone where construction of a commercial hotel was not permissible.

But, the director of sports and youth services (DSYS), who was the member secretary of the EC, entrusted construction of a three-star hotel on PPP basis to an entrepreneur, Unity Infraprojects Ltd. Proposal to the state government for a change in use of the land was sent in May 2007 after the work on the site had commenced.

The CAG has observed that the DSYS entered into an agreement with Unity Infraprojects in July 2007, even before the government granted its approval for the change in land use. The approval finally came in the same month.

Claiming that even the tendering process for the hotel was severely flawed, the CAG has said the contract was awarded to Unity Infraprojects on a single financial bid. "The net present value for the approved bid was below that was recommended by the finance department," the CAG has said.

The government had earlier washed off its hands saying that review committee, headed by the state chief secretary, was no responsible for the awarding of the contract. The CAG has said that Unity Infraprojects even violated a condition in the agreement for payment of annual premium.

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