In a move set to heat up the political discourse, the Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has decided to reopen the 2002 CNG fitness scam case, in which some top officers of the then Sheila Dikshit regime were accused of extending favours to some companies issuing fitness certificates to CNG vehicles.
Though the ACB had registered a case in 2012 after it found that the Delhi government had incurred a loss of Rs.100 crore in awarding the contracts of operation and maintenance for inspection and certification of CNG vehicles, the probe did not make headway reportedly in the absence of permission to question the officers. The probe agency also could not get full details of the case with evidence.
During its previous 49-day stint last year, the Aam Aadmi Party government had announced that it would provide documents pertaining to the scam that were requisitioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which had initiated a preliminary inquiry. Since the Arvind Kejriwal-led government resigned in February last year, there was no progress in the matter.
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The case has been reopened at a time when Mr. Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung are locked in a bitter fight over division of powers in the Capital’s administration, and the authority over the ACB in particular. Both the Constitutional functionaries have been claiming that the ACB is under their control.
In December, the AAP had raised the issue of the scam and questioned the silence of the Union government and the L-G on the alleged involvement of top bureaucrats in the case. According to sources in the Delhi government, the ACB is now equipped with information to re-open the case, in which the top three officers who worked under the Congress government headed by Ms. Dikshit will come under the scanner.
During the L-G’s rule in the Capital, the AAP had taken exception to the continuation of “indicted bureaucrats” at top administrative positions and accused the BJP-led NDA government of turning a blind eye towards the multi-crore scams allegedly committed during the Sheila Dikshit regime.
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Senior AAP leader Ashutosh pointed out that the CBI had in its report stated that the case was originally investigated by the ACB, which had the names of several senior bureaucrats in its possession.
PTI adds:
The CNG fitness scam surfaced in 2006, when the ACB said that two companies, one from the United States, did not have any links with each other, and that an Indian-based company was formed in 2006 with “dishonest intentions”.
After preliminary inquiry, the ACB registered a case on December 17, 2012. According to the FIR, the government lost crores by awarding the contract of operation and maintenance of inspection and certification lanes at Burari.
In December, the AAP had questioned the silence of the Union government and the
L-G on the alleged involvement of top bureaucrats in the case