Delhi LG orders probe, purchase of 1,000 buses put on hold

NEW DELHI: The procurement of 1,000 low-floor buses by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has been put on hold following an inquiry set up by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal after Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Vijender Gupta alleged irregularities in the process.
The transport department has asked DTC to keep in abeyance the procurement process and their annual maintenance contract (AMC) till further orders. Gupta had written to the LG for an inquiry, saying that in January 2021, Delhi government had placed a work order for 1,000 low-floor buses costing Rs 890 crore, out of which the contract for 700 buses was given to one manufacturer. He said that along with the purchase order, the tender for AMC was also handed over to the same supplier.
Gupta had said that the AMC order had been fixed at Rs 350 crore annually and the contract for maintenance would come into effect on the very first day of the purchase despite a three-year warranty period. “This implies that maintenance of the buses would cost the taxpayer nearly Rs 1,000 crore within the three-year warranty period,” he had alleged.
“BJP has complained to the LG, who has set up an inquiry on their complaint. We have stopped the process of procuring buses until the report on the inquiry committee comes. BJP should get its investigation done, we are ready to investigate in every way,” transport minister Kailash Gahlot said.
“The truth will come out in front of everyone in the investigation. BJP leaders have already checked 400 files, they found nothing. The Kejriwal government is the most honest government in the country,” Gahlot said.
Gupta said the opposition had raised the issue of financial misconduct in the bus contract to the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) in March 2021, which took immediate notice. “A request was sent to Delhi government to allow ACB to look into the charges. However, here too, Delhi government tried to derail the process by sitting on the file,” he alleged. He said a three-member fact finding committee had been constituted by the LG to verify the entire matter.