Written by: ENS Economic Bureau
2 min readNew DelhiAug 10, 2012 02:01 AM IST
First published on: Aug 10, 2012 at 02:01 AM IST
The Comptroller and Auditor Generals CAG,allegations of discrepancies in the procedure to award construction,operation and maintenance contract for Delhi airport to Delhi International Airport Ltd DIAL,a consortium led by the GMR Group,has been rebutted by the civil aviation ministry,Airports Authority of India and the company.
The draft report says that while seeking approval for the restructuring of Delhi and Mumbai airports,the Cabinet note specifically envisaged a concession period of 30 years,which could be extended by another 30 years,subject to mutual agreement and negotiation of terms. However,in the draft Operations,Maintenance and Development Agreement…the important condition subject to mutual agreement and negotiations of terms was omitted.
However,DIAL has clarified that all the terms and conditions in the bid document were reviewed by the Empowered Group of Ministers from December 2005 to January 2006 and approved by the Cabinet.
In its report,CAG also pointed out that the potential earning from land leased to DIAL by AAI for 58 years,amounted to Rs 1,63,557 crore.
Countering the allegation,they said,It is unrealistic to assume that the entire area for commercial usage can be monetised in a short-term. In fact,as per estimates,it may take 20 to 25 years to completely develop this land. Thereby the calculation of Rs 163,557 crore is erroneous.
CAGs admission that allowing DIAL to charge Airport Development Fee as a post-contractual benefit has been countered on the ground that it is under section 22A of AAI Act,1994.
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