Firing a broadside at its outside supporter Congress, the AAP Government on Thursday ordered a probe into the purchase of street lights installed by the then Sheila Dikshit-led Delhi Government during the Commonwealth Games, 2010.
Acting on the direction of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered an FIR in the irregularities in modernising street light project but did not name then CM Sheila Dikshit, who was indicted by the high-level Committee headed by former CAG VK Shunglu. The then lieutenant-Governor, Tejender Khanna, was too indicted in the Shunglu report.
This is the second attempt by the Kejriwal Government in a week to target a senior Congress leader for alleged corruption. The FIR, which does not name any officials directly, has been registered under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 13(1)c and d of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
PWD Minister Manish Sisodia told The Pioneer: "The ACB has been directed to conduct an independent and thorough investigation into the scam… Our target is not an individual." When asked that the CBI had found nothing in the case, Sisodia alleged that the CBI did not probe the case properly. "Everyone knows how the CBI probes cases," he added.
The AAP Government's move is bound to needle its ally Congress. It would be pertinent to mention that the CBI had registered 'Preliminary Enquiry' in this case but found nothing irregular and then closed the investigation. On Monday, the AAP Government had recommended to President Pranab Mukherjee to issue an "advisory" to Dikshit based on a lokayukta order for alleged wrongdoings in grant of provisional regularisation certificates to unauthorised colonies in 2008. After taking over, Kejriwal had announced that his government will investigate all corruption cases, particularly the CWG scam.
In the view of 2010 CWG in the Capital, the MCD had decided to upgrade street lighting to international standard. The Shunglu Committee appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to investigate the project had found procedural violations by then lieutenant Governor Tejender Khanna and then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for alleged inadequacies in executing projects.
The CAG found that using imported street-lights at exorbitant costs added up to additional expenditure of Rs 31 crores. Dikshit had trashed the findings of the report and had sent a point-by-point rebuttal to the Centre.
A city court had already framed charges against seven people, including four MCD officials and a firm, for their alleged roles in the CWG street-lighting scam. However, it would be noted that not a single employees or officials of the Delhi Government was booked in this case.
According to a Cabinet note, the apparent loss to the Delhi Government was to the tune of Rs 286 crore owing to PWD, MCD, and NDMC's decision to use imported items instead of indigenous ones. The note further alleged that contractor SpaceAge Switch Gears limited went on to supply low cost imported luminaries of Saudi make costing Rs 5,040 and charging Rs 25,704 for the same and in the process earning super profit of Rs 2.68 crore. A total of Rs 45.31 crore was spent on procurement of imported luminaries with Rs 28.95 crore by PWD, Rs 6.71 crore by MCD and Rs 10.34 crore by NDMC. The imported luminaries were procured by at a cost much higher than the cost at which indigenous luminaries were procured, leading to avoidable extra expenditure of Rs 31.07 crores.