HT Impact: Inquiry ordered into ₹6.2 crore Yamuna VIP boat plan

On being asked whether the tender is being cancelled, the minister’s office said that while the tender is not being cancelled, its conditions will be changed.

New Delhi: A day after HT reported that the Delhi government has initiated the process of procuring two air-conditioned boats for “VIP and VVIPs” at a cost over ₹6.2 crore to facilitate inspections of the Yamuna, the office of the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) minister Parvesh Verma on Wednesday said that the minister has “sought a detailed inquiry into the tender and the circumstances under which it was issued”.

The I&FC department issued a corrigendum on Wednesday for the VIP boat tender, extending the bidding process citing ‘administrative reasons’. (HT PHOTO)

On being asked whether the ₹6.2 crore tender is being cancelled, the minister’s office said that while the tender is not being cancelled, its conditions will be changed to ensure that “procurement of boats will be strictly need-based.”

“Any procurement of boats will be strictly need-based and limited to essential functions of the I&FC department, such as surveillance, pollution monitoring, and other operational requirements, and the minister has sought a detailed inquiry into the previously issued tenders and the circumstances under which they were issued,” read an official statement.

Meanwhile, the I&FC department issued a corrigendum on Wednesday for the VIP boat tender, extending the bidding process citing “administrative reasons.” The bid submission process was previously expected to conclude on Wednesday, but the new date is March 27.

According to a tender issued earlier, reported by the HT on Wednesday, each boat was supposed to accommodate 16 to 20 persons, with features such as “cassette-type rooftop marine air conditioners,” “customised business class push-back VIP seats,” a dedicated pantry for serving food, and washrooms, among other facilities.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government received flak from Opposition parties over the move to procure two VIP boats for inspection of the river at a cost of ₹6.2 crore. Pawan Khera, chairperson of the media and publicity department of Congress, in a post of X, said, “Sacred Yamuna is choking with poison, its waters reduced to toxic froth. Yet, instead of deploying public resources to restore the river, this government is splurging on lavish boats – air-conditioned cabins, stocked pantries – all to stage-manage VIP visits.”

Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav said the Delhi government is wasting public funds to purchase two luxury boats for the pleasure of politicians, funded by hard-earned public money. “The poor of Delhi are not getting two meals due to the non-availability of cooking gas cylinders, while the Delhi government is buying air-conditioned boats by spending crores of rupees. The top priority of the Rekha Gupta government should be to clean the river of its legacy waste left untouched by AAP’s government for over 10 years,” he said.

Congress MP from Kanyakumari, Vijay Vasanth, said everything is being done except cleaning the river. “The so-called triple engine BJP government in Delhi seems more like a VIP spectacle than a people’s government. What we are witnessing is nothing but shameful theatrics, no empathy, no accountability, just optics while people continue to suffer,” he said in a post on X.

Anurag Dhandha, AAP national media in-charge, posted on X that the money should have been used on water treatment plants, but the BJP government is buying for VIP pleasure. “If they spent ₹6.2 crore on a treatment plant instead, Yamuna might get a bit cleaner,” he added.