The ministry of home affairs (MHA) informed Delhi’s chief secretary Vijay Kumar Dev about this in a note dated August 16.
BJP and AAP have had an issue of contention between the, The Union government has recommended a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the 2020 purchase of 1,000 air-conditioned low-floor buses by the Delhi government, and a maintenance contract for them.
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) informed Delhi’s chief secretary Vijay Kumar Dev about this in a note dated August 16.
The note, a copy of which has been seen by HT, said that the ministry of home affairs (MHA), after examining the report submitted by a three-member panel appointed by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal asked CBI to look into the matter.
People familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified confirmed this as well.
A PE is the precursor to a First Information Report (FIR), during which agency carries out investigations to ascertain whether a cognisable offence is made out.
The Delhi government termed the move “harassment” by the Centre.
“There is absolutely no truth to these allegations. A committee was already set up to investigate the matter thoroughly, which gave a clean chit. It is a politically motivated conspiracy against AAP. The BJP wants to prevent the people of Delhi from getting new buses,” the Delhi government said in a statement.
“In the past as well, the Centre has tried to harass the Delhi government using CBI, but not even once has their attempt been successful because there has never been any truth to any of their allegations. The Delhi government does not believe in the politics of slander, it only believes in good governance and is committed to delivering upon its promise of good governance,” it added.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said the government “scam” will be “exposed” by the inquiry. “It is a matter of satisfaction that the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to refer the Delhi BJP complaint regarding the scam in purchase of 1,000 buses for a CBI inquiry. Now very soon, the Delhi government scam and those who planned it will get exposed,” he said.
HT reported on July 11 that the L-G-appointed panel gave a clean chit to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) in the tendering and procurement of the buses, although it found some “procedural lapses” arising out of “a bona fide decision making”.
“The tendering process of purchase of buses warrants no interference and suffers from no major infirmity... The committee, prima facie, did not come across any material to impute criminal misconduct attributable to any public official,” the report said.
“There were only procedural lapses apparently arising out of a bona fide decision-making process. However, a greater effort for understanding the market and a higher degree of due diligence in assessing reasonableness of bids was required compared to what seems to have been demonstrated,” it added.
DTC, which comes under the Delhi government, floated last March, a tender for procurement of 1,000 CNG low-floor buses and issued another tender for allotting the annual maintenance contract (AMC) for these buses four months later.
It was spending ?875 crore in the procurement of the 1,000, buses and the AMC, as per the second tender, was costing the DTC ?3,500 crore. To be sure, the purchase is a one-time expense, and the maintenance contract is valid for 12 years.
However, the BJP levelled allegations of corruption in the tender. On the directions of the Delhi L-G, the state vigilance department constituted a three-member committee headed by former bureaucrat OP Aggarwal, and comprising principal secretary (vigilance) KR Meena, and transport commissioner Ashish Kundra to look into the matter.
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