LG orders ACB probe into Barapullah Phase-III delays, ₹255cr payout

VK Saxena orders ACB to fix responsibility for lapses in ₹1,260 crore Barapullah project after full disbursal of ₹255 crore arbitration award; no departmental response yet.

Lieutenant governor VK Saxena has ordered the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) to investigate the decade-long delay, cost overruns and arbitration payments in the Barapullah Elevated Road (Phase III) project, officials said on Tuesday. The decision follows the recommendation of chief minister Rekha Gupta and the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC), which flagged “complete absence of administrative oversight, managerial failure and criminal neglect” in the ₹1,260 crore project launched in 2015.

According to official records, multiple administrative lapses crippled progress. (HT Archive)

Despite ten years having passed, officials said the project remains only 87% complete. “The cascading impact of lapses of various agencies resulted in arbitration proceedings, forcing the hand of Government to pay an additional ₹255 crores on account of an arbitration award which was accepted by the department… I am in complete agreement with the recommendation of EFC that the matter be referred to ACB for a thorough investigation and responsibility be fixed of all erring officials in PWD, revenue, DIL, and other agencies as discovered during the course of investigation,” the LG noted in his directive. The ₹255 crore arbitration payout has been fully disbursed, officials confirmed.

Saxena further questioned why arbitration clauses in large contracts incentivise contractors to raise exorbitant claims even when at fault, citing a similar episode involving the Bharat Mandapam underpass project. The LG said the matter reflected a “complete management failure,” adding, “Project managers have the primary responsibility to ensure construction proceeds as per schedule and regulatory clearances are in place.”

The chief minister, who chaired the July 28 EFC meeting, had directed the ACB to “fix responsibility of the erring officers/persons in the PWD, revenue department and DTL.” The probe will examine why arbitration awards were accepted by officials not competent to do so, and how repeated administrative failures went unchecked.

No official response has been issued by any of the three departments so far.

Approved in 2011, Barapullah Phase-III was meant to connect east and south Delhi through an elevated corridor from Mayur Vihar to Sarai Kale Khan. The project is now delayed by over seven years, with significant cost escalation.