The Delhi Congress on Monday said that it would approach the Central Vigilance Commission or the Central Bureau of Investigation if the government does not order a thorough probe into the purchase of 1,000 buses by the Delhi Transport Corporation and awarding of the maintenance contract for them.
Delhi Congress chief Ch. Anil Kumar said the party will approach the investigating agencies with relevant papers so that a thorough probe could be conducted. He added that on the basis of the findings of a three-member probe panel constituted by the L-G, FIRs should be filed against those found guilty.
“The three-member probe committee, constituted by l-G Anil Baijal, had recommended that the 12-year Annual Maintenance Contract [AMC], worth ₹3,413 crore, for the proposed 1,000 low-floor buses awarded by the Delhi Transport Corporation be scrapped. In its 11-page report, the committee observed that the evaluation criteria adopted by the DTC seems to be flawed,” Mr. Kumar said. He added that the committee only probed five points related to the maintenance contract instead of going into the entire tender process in a detailed manner.
Mr. Kumar said that when the Congress left power in Delhi, there were 6,000 DTC buses in operation, and under the regime of the Arvind Kejriwal government, the number has come down to just 2,600 buses.
“With public transport in a mess, Mr. Kejriwal is encouraging people to go for private vehicles as more private vehicles on the road meant more sales of petrol and diesel, from which the Delhi government would earn crores in the form of VAT,” Mr. Kumar alleged.
