ACB acts on Delhi L-G order, registers FIR over delay in Barapullah Ph 3

Last October, terming the delay “inexplicable in itself” and stating that it had caused losses of “hundreds of crores” to the government exchequer, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena had ordered a probe into the matter. He had described the case as one showing “complete absence of administrative oversight, managerial failure and criminal neglect” in the execution of a high-value infrastructure project.

The matter was taken up by the L-G following a recommendation from Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

According to sources, the matter was first discussed in a meeting of the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC), chaired by Gupta on July 28, last year. The EFC recommended a “thorough inquiry with regard to the approval and acceptance of arbitration awards by authorities non-competent to accept; delay in the execution of project and fixing responsibility of erring officers, alongwith directions to Public Works Department (PWD) to provide complete records of the matter to ACB”.

The project – a 3.5-km four-lane elevated corridor – was originally approved in 2011. The corridor is meant to merge with the existing Barapullah flyover at Sarai Kale Khan.

In December 2014, Rs 1,260.63 crore was allocated for the project. The construction was awarded to Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in April 2015. The project was supposed to be completed by October 2017.

Even as more than a decade has passed, the project — plagued by land acquisition issues, delays in tree-cutting permissions, and alleged departmental mismanagement — is yet to be completed. The project is now expected to be completed by June this year.

Of the original estimate, Rs 1,238.68 crore has been spent so far, said officials, adding that the new estimated cost is around Rs 1,330 crore.

When contacted, an official from L&T said that they are aware of the development and will provide the required documents if the ACB asks for them.

Last October, the PWD had said it has received permission from the Central Empowered Committee to fell 250 trees that are required for the project to progress.