No probe yet into Airport Metro ‘scam’ reported by DDC
Chief Minister had in July written to Centre urging CBI probe into the matter
NEW DELHI: The central government is yet to respond to the allegations of “negligence and corruption” in the termination of the concession agreement of Delhi Airport Express Metro Line, as reported by the Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC).
Sources said that after the Delhi government think tank submitted the report, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who serves as chairman of DDC, urged the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre to order a CBI probe into the matter. However, no investigation – external or internal – has not yet started.
In a letter sent in July to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Kejriwal wrote, “The entire episode would lead to an onerous burden of about Rs 4,700 crore, which will have to be shared equally by the Centre and the Delhi government… Yet, the Government of NCT
of Delhi has no means of taking any preventive or corrective action as the DMRC is neither answerable to it nor does it exercise any form of control or authority over DMRC.”
Sources in Delhi government said that the Centre is “intentionally” delaying the probe, as big corporates have
alleged involvement in the project.
In November 2017, DDC had been directed by Kejriwal to examine the Airport Express Line project.
Operations on the Airport Express Line, a public-private partnership project between Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
(DMRC) and concessionaire Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Ltd (DAEMPL), a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure, started in February 2011, after missing the Commonwealth Games 2010 deadline.
The inquiry report by DDC found that the model concession agreement had been “distorted”, giving the concessionaire (i.e. DAEMPL) the ability to “extract undue gains from the DMRC at the cost of the public exchequer.”
The concessionaire had “gold-plated” the costs to the tune of Rs 500 crore, the report added.
In addition,it also noted there was “excessive interest on termination payment” given to the concessionaire.
The concession agreement was not vetted by a law firm and the agreement was approved by the managing director of the DMRC, which was a “major lapse”, according to the report.
The inquiry report added that there had been serious defects in the civil works carried out by the DMRC.
The project was meant to be a high-speed Metro line with a maximum speed of 120 km/h, but the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety had given clearance for lower speed.