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Govt. accused of "bending all rules"

Sujay Mehdudia

PAC report on privatisation of power distribution tabled in Delhi Assembly

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Government came under scathing attack on the controversial issue of privatisation of power distribution in the Capital on Thursday with the report of the State Assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) accusing the Government of bending all "rules and colluding" with business houses to "accrue monetary benefits" to them. It has recommended a CBI probe into the conduct of officials of the Core Committee for favouring the conditional bidders for "monetary consideration."

The report, prepared and tabled by senior Congress MLA S. C. Vats in the Delhi Assembly on Thursday, led to BJP leaders Jagdish Mukhi and Harsh Vardhan demanding resignation of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and the ruling party members complimenting Dr. Vats for doing a splendid job. Interestingly, Ms. Dikshit was not present in the House when the report was tabled. The report is a severe indictment of the Delhi Government, its Power Department and the senior bureaucrats who handled the process of privatisation in 2002. Recommending a CBI enquiry to ascertain the circumstances that led the members of the Core Committee to go against the interest of the public exchequer by favouring the conditional bidders, the report has cast aspersions on members of the committee charging them with favouring the conditional bidders for monetary considerations by accepting conditional bids and effecting major modifications in the transfer scheme, policy directions and contract agreements without the approval of the competent authority.

The report points out that during a PAC meeting held in June 2005, State Chief Secretary S. Regunathan, who then was holding charge of Principal Secretary (Power), admitted to "procedural lapses'' but said the intentions were not mala fide.

"The PAC is of the opinion that members of the Core Committee bent all rules and in blatant violation of the Request for Proposal (RFP) clauses 19.5 and 19.8, colluded with the business houses who were bidding for the power distribution business, and at their behest made drastic changes in the transfer scheme so as to accrue monetary benefits to the conditional bidders in the long run. The members of the Core Committee also attempted to undermine the authority of the competent authority (L-G) by seeking a "doctored legal opinion'' from the Law Department of the Delhi Government so as to alter the definition of the Government,'' it said.

The report also states that the same Core Committee prior to fixing this deal had opined to the Cabinet that bids being conditional in nature might not be accepted in their present form. And by saying that the bids might not be accepted in their present form, the members of the Committee wanted to retain the handle with themselves and leave enough scope for them to "manipulate'' things, it added.

In its most damaging part, the PAC stated: "In this background, it is felt that all was not above board and it does not rule out the involvement of one or more members of the Core Committee in favouring the conditional bidders for monetary considerations by accepting conditional bids and effecting major modifications in the transfer scheme, policy directions and contract agreements without the approval of the competent authority. The PAC recommends that the Govt. should approach CBI for an enquiry to ascertain the circumstances that led the members of the Core Committee to go against the interest of the public exchequer by favouring the conditional bidder."

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