CAG smells rat in DMK's Assembly project

The CAG has pulled up the previous DMK government that initiated the project, for wasteful expenditure and flouting tender rules in selecting a foreign architect (German firm GMP) for the plan.

While the new AIADMK regime headed by J Jayalalitha has decided to convert the new Assembly complex into a huge multi super-speciality hospital, the CAG in its audit report on the Tamil Nadu government’s functioning for the year ended March 31, 2010, has put the DMK in a spot, just a month before the local bodies polls in the state.

“Provisions of the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act and Rules were not followed in award of contracts for providing architectural services for the construction of the Assembly building,” according to the CAG report which was placed in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

From among seven firms short-listed by an Evaluation Committee in September 2007, for presentation of their design concepts, a German firm was selected, it pointed out. Without calling for financial bids, the agreement for providing consultancy services (by the German firm) was concluded “at a scale of 5 per cent of the actual project cost”, the CAG said.

Also, the extension of the firm’s services to the Block B planned at the same complex (for a new secretariat) and other buildings was done without inviting open tenders.

The CAG faulted the project on three other key counts which resulted in “wasteful expenditure” of Rs 9.28 crore. This included Rs 3.28 crore spent on the construction of a temporary dome.