Going ahead with its zero-tolerance policy against corruption, the Delhi government led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has constituted a high-level committee chaired by the additional chief secretary (PWD/I&FC) to review arbitration awards of Rs 1 crore and above cleared by the PWD and the I&FC departments over past two decades.
According to Rekha Gupta, the purpose of forming this committee is to gather details of the decisions delivered against the government, assess the payment amounts, and evaluate the losses incurred.
The chief minister said that the Comptroller and Auditor General would serve as a member of this high-level committee, while the additional director general would act as member secretary. She stated that the internal finance support teams of the PWD and I&FC department, namely the COA and DCA, along with two audit teams from the Directorate of Audit, will assist the committee.
According to her, the committee will review all arbitration awards of Rs 1 crore and above in both departments over the past 20 years, and will compile year-wise and award-wise data on these cases, including the total number of arbitration matters and the proportion decided against the government.
Along with payment details, the committee will assess the financial losses incurred by the government in such decisions.
Once the departments come up with necessary data, the committee will begin its review, and if required, the Directorate of Audit will assign additional audit teams based on the volume or complexity of cases, as per the committee’s recommendations.
The CM stated that the purpose of this review is to assess the extent of financial losses resulting from legal disputes and to bring transparency regarding the expenditure or loss of public funds over the last two decades.
She further informed that she had recently directed the Anti-Corruption Branch to investigate an arbitration case stemming from alleged irregularities and delays in the construction of the Barapullah Phase-III Corridor.
Originally scheduled for completion in October 2017, the project suffered repeated delays and was eventually referred to arbitration.
The award was passed in favour of the contractor, mandating a payment of Rs 120 crore, and the company approached the High Court, after the payment was withheld, following which it approached the court, and finally it ordered the PWD to pay Rs 175 crore, inclusive of interest and GST, and the said payment was made during previous government’s tenure.
The CM added that many such instances were reported during the previous government’s tenure, which compelled the administration to form the committee and initiate an inquiry.