The Commonwealth Games organising committee, with Suresh Kalmadi as its chairman, bought most items at inflated rates, a Comptroller and Auditor General audit report has concluded.
Vendors charged different rates for the same items and the mark-up was sky-high. In the process, tax payers lost at least Rs 220 crore. With right pricing, the organising committee could also have saved Rs 23 crore on service tax, the report says.
The Times of India reports: "The audit report... has listed 16 items to show how Games bosses allowed ineligible vendors to form cartels and paid exorbitant amounts for identical items that had been bid for at a lower cost."
Older allegations were confirmed by the report. The organising committee had divided the venues into seven clusters. One cluster bought a tissue roll at Rs 22, while another paid Rs 3,751 for it.
The report found that a small refrigerator was supplied at Rs 9,848 by GL Moroform, while PICO Deepali billed it at Rs 22,957. A soap dispenser came for Rs 187 from Nussli India Pvt Ltd, while ESAJV D Art Indo Consortium sold it for a mind-boggling Rs 9,379.Vendors charged different rates for the same items and the mark-up was sky-high. In the process, tax payers lost at least Rs 220 crore. With right pricing, the organising committee could also have saved Rs 23 crore on service tax, the report says.
The Times of India reports: "The audit report... has listed 16 items to show how Games bosses allowed ineligible vendors to form cartels and paid exorbitant amounts for identical items that had been bid for at a lower cost."
Older allegations were confirmed by the report. The organising committee had divided the venues into seven clusters. One cluster bought a tissue roll at Rs 22, while another paid Rs 3,751 for it.
A 15-litre trash bin supplied by PICO Deepali cost Rs 245, but ESAJV D' Art priced it at Rs 7,618. A 20 KVA power backup (UPS) from one vendor came for Rs 6 lakh but another supplier charged Rs 10 lakh for a similar item, the Times of India reported.
Under fire for months, Kalmadi was finally called for questioning by the CBI earlier this week. He sat through nine hours of grilling, and emerged grinning, prompting the BJP to demand that the investigators "stop playing host" to the tainted sports administrator.
The CBI raided the Delhi and Pune homes of Kalmadi and the organising committee's office on December 24 and seized documents, laptops and CDs. The raids came two months after the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games.
"As everybody knows very well, no decision in the Commonwealth Games preparations was taken without Kalmadi''s consent," said BJP spokesman Shahnaz Hussain. "His rightful place is in West Delhi in the famous Tihar jail."
The CBI raided four places on December 7 and filed another police complaint against the organising committee for buying sports equipment at inflated prices. But the fresh FIR made no mention of Kalmadi.
The CAG believes cluster-wise tendering was preferred over item-wise tendering to help vendors form cartels and jack up prices. It confirms that Kalmadi squandered public money to become the face of a huge sports scandal that shamed India internationally.
Resource:- http://in.news.yahoo.com/kalmadi-helped-cartels-loot-cwg--confirms-cag-report.html
No comments:
Post a Comment