The three final reports of the CAG on allocation of coal blocks,
Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) under Special Purpose Vehicles and on
implementation of public-private-partnership for Indira Gandhi
International Airport in Delhi have shocked the nation.
The report on implementation of airport brings out two major areas of
wrong doing which was facilitated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation
and the Airport Authority of India (AAI). For an equity contribution of
Rs. 2,450 crores, the private entity was allowed rights of commercial
exploitation of 240 acres of land. The potential revenue from this land
as licence fee for 58 years was projected by Delhi International
Airport Ltd (DIAL) itself at Rs. 1,63,557 of which DIAL share would be
Rs. 88,337 crores. An additional land of 190.19 acres was leased out
for a paltry one time payment of Rs. 6.19 crores. This is far less than
even what has been charged from government institutions like Director
General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security
(BCAS). Apart from this, post-bid, post-contractual benefits to the
private JV partner is clearly an instance of violation of the tendering
process and complicity.
Further, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and later Airport Economic
Regulatory Authority (AERA) allowed DIAL to collect development fees of
Rs. 3,415.35 crores. The February 2009 order of the Civil Aviation
Ministry is clearly a contravention of the Operation Management and
Development Agreement (OMDA), AAI Act and the AERA Act. CPI(M) members
in the Parliament had raised all these issues and brought it to the
notice of the Prime Minister that these are grave violations of the
statutory provisions almost a year back. But no attempt was made by
the government to reverse this blatant act of wrong doing.
On the UMPP, the CAG has found major post-bid violation by allowing
Reliance Powers Ltd. (RPL) to use excess coal from the three coal blocks
allocated to the Sasan UMPP which not only vitiated the bidding process
but also resulted in undue benefit to RPL. The CAG report clearly
pinpoints that the overall financial largesse to RPL due to this act of
commission amounts to Rs. 29,000 crores.
It is shocking that how the government nonchalantly has responded
to the reports by a Constitutional Authority questioning them on
grounds of Constitutional mandate. The sordid story of crony
capitalism has become a hallmark of the UPA-II government. The
government which comes out with tight fists over spending on food and
nutrition security of the people take such a `couldn’t care less’
attitude over such huge losses to the public exchequer while benefiting
corporates.
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) condemns such complicit approach of
the government and demands that all those responsible for this fleecing
of public funds over the handing over of natural resources be brought to
book and accountability fixed. The Polit Bureau also demands that
all measures are initiated to retrieve the losses in violation of
statutory and other agreed provisions as was ordained by the Supreme
Court in the 2G spectrum case.
