Gomti Riverfront project bid process fudged, says CAG

LUCKNOW: Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) indicted the irrigation department for carrying out the Rs 660-crore Gomti Riverfront project in 2015, without floating tenders during the then Akhilesh Yadav government.

CAG’s disclosure comes days after Enforcement Directorate began a probe into financial irregularities carried out in the flagship project.

The report tabled in the UP Assembly on Thursday stated of the Rs 1188.74-crore project outlay, the irrigation department received tenders of Rs 525.77 crore that was published in newspapers, while hushing up Rs 662.58 crore.

CAG said, tenders of Rs 662.58 crore were illegally given to some firms by bending guidelines and fabricating evidence. “Yeh kapat, anushashnatmak jaanch aur apradhik abiyojan ke liye satarkata ke drastikon se parikshan yogya hain (The irregularity should be probed as a criminal offence),” the report said.

The auditor categorically pointed at irregularities in construction of a diaphragm wall along the Gomti.

The report says bids of Rs 516.73 crore were bagged by Gammon India Pvt Ltd in March 2015 after the irrigation department diluted the eligibility criteria, a month before allocating the project.

This was in violation of bidding allocation rules of the finance department and directions of the vigilance department in 2002.

The directions stated that corrigendum and tenders be published in newspapers, CAG said.

“But neither a corrigendum nor change in requisite standards were published, scuttling competitive bidding. Gammon India Pvt Ltd was not qualified under the original bid document as it had experience of digging 19 cubic metre of mud against the required 20 cubic metre,” the report stated.

CAG also said there was no evaluation of bid document by a committee. The report also said the state government in February 2018, admitted there were no documents to back dilution of technical eligibility. “It’s clear a departmental inquiry and criminal prosecution be initiated since the project’s executive engineer allotted a tender to an unqualified company after diluting criteria,” the report said.

Also, CAG points out the tender of Rs 285 crore for intercepting trunk drain to channelize Gomti waters between Hardoi-Sitapur bypass was allotted to KK Span Pipe Private Ltd without technical evaluation. CAG said while the firm should have an annual turnover of Rs 345 crore, KK Span had only Rs 152.53 crore. The irrigation department, at the same time, denied an opportunity to M/s Patel Engineers, who had an annual turnover of Rs 345 crore.