CWG scam: Consultants drove commonwealth Games costs up and up
Scope of streetscaping work expanded from 20km to 73.48km; shortlisting of consultants delayed till 2008; costlier specifications used.
By Rumu Banerjee, TNN | Updated:
Hundred pages of the CAG report have indicted Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit over escalating costs of projects in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games, particularly for draining the exchequer of Rs 101 crore in streetscaping projects. She may have brushed off the Shunglu report , but this time her government will have to come up with answers.
The CAG report blasts the Dikshit government for not seeking clearance from Delhi Urban Arts Commission ( DUAC) - the nodal agency for urban and environmental design - and not holding consultations with the traffic police at the initial stage."Costs of this magnitude for streetscaping and beautification were prohibitive and represented a waste of public money," it said.
What's more shocking, according to CAG, is the way the government and its agency, PWD, allowed projects to be consultant-driven . The selection of consultants was arbitrary and nontransparent . The government did not provide any common design guidelines , with the consultants being given a free hand to draw up their own. This resulted in adoption of different specifications and rates for identical items of work. For instance, in July 2008, the government wanted pavements to be constructed with coloured cement concrete paver blocks. The consultant, however, proposed use of a richer specification granite. While the market price of granite was Rs 1,022 /sqm, the estimate adopted was Rs 1,500-1 ,765/sqm.
The expansion of scope of work from 2004 to 2008 added to the escalating costs. Initially, the project was supposed to be implemented at 10 sites around the Games venues covering 20km. This was expanded to 73.48km, covering roads under PWD, MCD, DDA,NDMC and DIMTS.The process of shortlisting of consultants, although initiated in 2004, was delayed till December 2008. According to CAG, "Market rates were not supported by any quotation, indicating that the estimates were not a true reflection of the prevailing market rates and, thus, not reliable ." The rate of work per km ranged between Rs 3.14 crore (roads around Games venues) and Rs 8.27 crore (Ring Road, from Ashram to Bhairon Marg crossing). The per sqm cost of surfacing footpaths varied significantly between roads,averaging Rs 717 for paving with normal paver blocks,Rs 1,450 with vitrified tiles and Rs 2,679 with polished granite. "We found that the consultants increased the cost of the project by providing richer specifications and higher rates for various items of work," says the report.
The consultants' estimates were cleared at various levels up to the CE (chief engineer). High cost bids were approved by the works advisory board (WAB) by irregular justification of the quoted rates. This mismanagement caused a loss of Rs 59.60 crore.The tendering process was flawed,with some contractors being kept away from the projects deliberately. Contract management, where extra items were added to the project package at the end, resulted in extra payment to the contractor.
The CAG report blasts the Dikshit government for not seeking clearance from Delhi Urban Arts Commission ( DUAC) - the nodal agency for urban and environmental design - and not holding consultations with the traffic police at the initial stage."Costs of this magnitude for streetscaping and beautification were prohibitive and represented a waste of public money," it said.
What's more shocking, according to CAG, is the way the government and its agency, PWD, allowed projects to be consultant-driven . The selection of consultants was arbitrary and nontransparent . The government did not provide any common design guidelines , with the consultants being given a free hand to draw up their own. This resulted in adoption of different specifications and rates for identical items of work. For instance, in July 2008, the government wanted pavements to be constructed with coloured cement concrete paver blocks. The consultant, however, proposed use of a richer specification granite. While the market price of granite was Rs 1,022 /sqm, the estimate adopted was Rs 1,500-1 ,765/sqm.
The expansion of scope of work from 2004 to 2008 added to the escalating costs. Initially, the project was supposed to be implemented at 10 sites around the Games venues covering 20km. This was expanded to 73.48km, covering roads under PWD, MCD, DDA,NDMC and DIMTS.The process of shortlisting of consultants, although initiated in 2004, was delayed till December 2008. According to CAG, "Market rates were not supported by any quotation, indicating that the estimates were not a true reflection of the prevailing market rates and, thus, not reliable ." The rate of work per km ranged between Rs 3.14 crore (roads around Games venues) and Rs 8.27 crore (Ring Road, from Ashram to Bhairon Marg crossing). The per sqm cost of surfacing footpaths varied significantly between roads,averaging Rs 717 for paving with normal paver blocks,Rs 1,450 with vitrified tiles and Rs 2,679 with polished granite. "We found that the consultants increased the cost of the project by providing richer specifications and higher rates for various items of work," says the report.
The consultants' estimates were cleared at various levels up to the CE (chief engineer). High cost bids were approved by the works advisory board (WAB) by irregular justification of the quoted rates. This mismanagement caused a loss of Rs 59.60 crore.The tendering process was flawed,with some contractors being kept away from the projects deliberately. Contract management, where extra items were added to the project package at the end, resulted in extra payment to the contractor.
For instance, the contractors were to remove the malba at their sites under the agreement. Yet,extra payment was made to the contractors for the same. In fact, contractor Satya Prakash and Brothers didn't even remove the malba from their sites around Yamuna Sports Complex and CWG Village. The PWD removed the malba through IL&FS but didn't recover the cost from the contractor.It also paid IL&FS Rs 280.32 per MT of malba against Rs 73.42 per MT as per the agreement rate with Satya Prakash & Brother .Even third party quality control agencies failed to do their jobs, rendering the expenditure of Rs 1.47 crore on them wasteful.
Greening of Games venues as well as horticulture works have also been faulted by the CAG report.It questions the procurement of plant species that were not conducive to the city's climate and the large-scale expenditure on getting potted plants from private nurseries. Of the Rs 24 crore sanctioned for the exercise, Rs 10.75 crore was spent on buying 18.64 lakh plants from private nurseries. Expensive street electrical furnishings added to the cost. The report says, "The government was unnecessarily burdened with this expenditure on overpriced light fittings in the name of aesthetics." Each of the items was specified by brand name without giving a generic description, thereby favouring a particular manufacturing company.
Greening of Games venues as well as horticulture works have also been faulted by the CAG report.It questions the procurement of plant species that were not conducive to the city's climate and the large-scale expenditure on getting potted plants from private nurseries. Of the Rs 24 crore sanctioned for the exercise, Rs 10.75 crore was spent on buying 18.64 lakh plants from private nurseries. Expensive street electrical furnishings added to the cost. The report says, "The government was unnecessarily burdened with this expenditure on overpriced light fittings in the name of aesthetics." Each of the items was specified by brand name without giving a generic description, thereby favouring a particular manufacturing company.
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