Delhi govt orders probe into CWG scam

Spelling more trouble for Delhi former chief minister Sheila Dikshit and her ministers, the Aam Aadmi Party government on Thursday ordered registration of  an FIR on the alleged corruption in the purchase of streetlights during the Commonwealth Games.

The Delhi government's Anti-Corruption Bureau registered an FIR on the basis of the CAG and Shunglu Committee’s reports, and a probe had been launched. The two reports suggested that discrepancies in the procurement of streetlights for the CWG 2010 led to a loss of Rs 31 crore to the exchequer.

Sheila Dikshit had finalised the deal with companies which were found non-eligible in the reports. The BJP-led Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi government’s Public Works Department and New Delhi Municipal Council also bought streetlights in the same manner.

“The Anti-Corruption Department of the Delhi government has been directed to conduct an independent and thorough investigation in their roles and take action. The department has been asked to lodge an FIR,” said Delhi Minister Manish Sisodia.

However, no one has been named in the FIR which is registered at the I P Estate police station. Sisodia also attacked the Dikshit’s government for not pursuing the allegations and ignoring the reports. 

“The high-level Shunglu Committee was formed by the PM to probe the matter. After that, the CAG audit was also done. In both reports, many serious findings were mentioned and one of them was related to streetlighting. It was strongly mentioned that many non-eligible companies were made eligible from backdoor and contracts were given to them. But no FIR was filed by the CBI,” he told reporters here.

The Congress, however, said Dikshit government has not done anything wrong. “We are ready for any probe. Our government has not committed any crime,” said former Congress minister Kiran Walia.
The Shunglu Committee’s report also suggests that three government agencies—MCD, PWD and NDMC—imported the streetlights which was unnecessary and that too at a much higher rate. The MCD caused a loss of Rs 4.50 crore to the government. The government lost Rs 6.76 crore due to NDMC decision, and another Rs 19.81 crore due to PWD.

The imported lights costing between Rs 6,000 and Rs 21,000 per piece were contracted at an inflated rate of Rs 27,000 and Rs 25,071.

A senior Anti-Corruption Bureau official said the department would treat the findings in the reports as clues for the investigation.

“The investigation is in a very preliminary stage so we cannot say the findings of the Shunglu Committee and the CAG are a proof against anyone. We will only treat the reports as a clue and investigate the case,” the official said.