Delhi govt shelves VIP boat project, suspends two officials

The Delhi govt had received flak from AAP and Congress, which termed the procurement of “luxury boats” to be “wastage of public funds and case of misplaced priorities”.

The Delhi government has scrapped its plans to procure two air-conditioned boats for VIPs and VVIPs at a cost of ₹6.2 crore and suspended two senior officials involved in the procurement, minister Parvesh Verma said on Thursday.

The Yamuna clean-up has been a priority project for the BJP-led Delhi government. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Verma, minister in-charge of the irrigation and flood control (I&FC) department, told HT that the tender process has been cancelled.

“We have cancelled the tender for the boats and we are investigating the issue. The executive engineer and assistant engineer concerned have also been suspended for issuing the tenders without prior information,” Verma said.

A day after HT reported on the plans in its edition dated March 18, the minister ordered an inquiry into the previously issued tenders and “the circumstances under which they were issued.” The office of the I&FC minister said that directions were issued to the effect that “any future procurement of boats will be limited to essential functions of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, such as surveillance, pollution monitoring, and other operational requirements.”

Each vessel was to include an open-rear deck with three-to-four-seater sofas for VIP public appearances. “The boat to have an open rear deck area for VIPs public appearance. VIP sofa-type seating to be fitted in this area for 3 to 4 persons,” the document accessed by HT read. The interior specifications included “customised business-class type seats made of vegan leather with exquisite stitching, integrated hand rests with wooden finish, bottle holders, and a premium aesthetic look with concealed LED lights and ambient lighting.”

The Delhi government had received flak from the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress, which termed the procurement of “luxury boats” to be “wastage of public funds and case of misplaced priorities”.

The I&FC department issued a corrigendum on March 18 for the VIP boat tender, extending the bidding process citing “administrative reason.” The bid submission process was earlier expected to be concluded on March 18, but the deadline was revised to March 27, before it was cancelled.

The Yamuna clean-up has been a priority project for the BJP-led Delhi government. A roughly 48-kilometre stretch in Delhi from Palla to Badarpur (Delhi-Haryana border), and a 26km stretch from Wazirabad (downside of Wazirabad Barrage) to Asgarpur Village (after Okhla Barrage) — less than 2% of the river’s length — accounts for the major pollution load in the river.