Home Ministry recommends CBI probe into Delhi government’s purchase of 1,000 low-floor buses
New Delhi:
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has recommended a preliminary inquiry by the CBI into the purchase of 1,000 low-floor buses by the Delhi government, officials said on Thursday.
Reacting to the development, the Delhi government denied “allegations” of corruption in bus purchases and accused the BJP-led central government of using the CBI to “harass” it.
The issue of “corruption” in the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) of bus procurement by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) was raised by the BJP in the Delhi Assembly in March this year.
In June, a three-member committee constituted by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal had found procedural “loopholes” in the AMC and recommended rectification.
Officials said the Lt Governor had referred the matter to the Home Ministry in July for consideration.
In a letter to Chief Secretary Vijay Dev on August 16, Govind Mohan, Additional Secretary (Union Territories), Ministry of Home Affairs, informed the Delhi government about the CBI investigation.
“I am writing this with regard to the purchase of 1,000 low-floor buses by the Delhi government and the report submitted by the three-member committee constituted by the Government of NCT of Delhi for a detailed inquiry into the matter.”
“The matter has been investigated in this ministry and with the approval of the competent authority, the DoPT has been requested to take necessary action to conduct a preliminary inquiry in the matter by the Central Bureau of Investigation,” the letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs said.
Delhi BJP MLA Vijender Gupta, who raised the matter in the assembly, alleged that there was a scam of thousands of crores in bus purchase.
In a video message, Gupta said, “The CBI investigation has begun in the DTC bus purchase scam. The Transport Minister of Delhi should be immediately removed and arrested.”
These allegations are “not at all true”, a statement from the Delhi government said, adding that a committee was constituted to thoroughly investigate the matter, which gave a “clean chit” to the government.
“This is a politically motivated conspiracy against the Aam Aadmi Party. BJP wants to stop the people of Delhi from taking new buses. In the past also the central government has tried to harass the Delhi government by using CBI, but once Neither. Has his effort been successful because there has never been any truth in any of his allegations.”
The Delhi government does not believe in the politics of defamation, it only believes in good governance and is committed to fulfill its promise of good governance, the statement said.
DTC had floated two separate tenders last year for the purchase of 1,000 low floor buses and their AMCs. The purchase contract was worth Rs 850 crore, while the AMC was for 12 years for Rs 3,412 crore.
The bus purchase contract was awarded to JBM Auto and Tata Motors in the ratio of 70:30. Officials said the former AMC was the L1 bidder in the tender.
The Delhi government had put the bus purchase process on hold in June, deciding to await the outcome of a three-member committee set up by the LG to look into the matter.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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