BRT work awarded at inflated rates, without approval

From faulty payments, functional overlaps to projects without mandatory permission, Delhi’s transport department committed large-scale irregularities in its bid to roll out an integrated multi-modal transit network in the Capital, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said.

From faulty payments, functional overlaps to projects without mandatory permission, Delhi’s transport department committed large-scale irregularities in its bid to roll out an integrated multi-modal transit network in the Capital, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said.

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The department awarded BRT (bus rapid transit) work to Delhi Integrated Multi-modal System (DIMTS) at inflated rates, that too without the permission of the finance department, says the CAG report tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

The department implemented cluster buses scheme without a well laid out plan and again without the permission of the finance department or the legislature, the report says.

The report says that the DTIDC made payments to the DIMTS even though it did not have control over the execution of the works by the DIMTS, resulting in unauthorized and irregular payments.

“Even though the results could not be achieved during the plan period, the department resorted to financial impropriety in not availing the permission of the finance department and awarded the BRT work to the DIMTS at a higher rate than that of Public Works Department (PWD),” the CAG report says.

“The Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (DTIDC) has not started functioning properly even after two years of its creation and not implementing the schemes properly. Functional overlaps with the department as well as involvement of the DIMTS were unwarranted in light of creation of a specialized corporation,” the report says.

The report says though DIMTS was a private company, the department continued to accord it a special treatment by awarding work on nomination basis.

The CAG report also says most of the funds earmarked for modernisation of the communication branch of Delhi Police were not utilised and an intelligent traffic system could not be started as of March 2012.