Delhi govt wants CAG to limit probe

The Delhi government has once again insisted that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) team should restrict its “investigations” to 25 projects that are directly linked to the Commonwealth Games.

The Delhi government has once again insisted that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) team should restrict its “investigations” to 25 projects that are directly linked to the Commonwealth Games.

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The CAG team wanted to audit all 76 infrastructure projects that the government took up in the past three years,

Replying to a recent letter sent by accountant general (Delhi) Rajvir Singh in which the CAG said no exceptions could be made and the objective of audit may require them to go beyond the 25 projects shortlisted by the Delhi government, Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta has reportedly insisted that the CAG team should only look into 25 Games-related projects due to “time constraint”.

According to a senior Delhi government official, the chief secretary has re-emphasised the point that the CAG team has just 90 days to audit infrastructure projects that Delhi built in past three years.

The Delhi government had written to the CAG on October 22 saying only 25 of the 76 projects were directly linked to the Games. The CAG, however, said the government should not to “filter information”.

“The government spent a cumulative R10,000 crore on the rest of the 51 projects in three years. This is 35 per cent of Delhi’s budget, which in any case is spent on Delhi’s

infrastructure. It clearly implies that we never spent beyond our means,” a senior Delhi government official said, requesting anonymity.