BJP govt's credibility under fire as CAG flags 7 'scams'

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Congress has found a new stick to beat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre with – the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report – which it claims unearthed “seven scams” amounting to hundreds of crores.

The unveiling of this report has significantly eroded the credibility of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), putting the party in a challenging position and intensifying the pressure on them, particularly as the 2024 Lok Sabha election is less than a year away.

The CAG cited massive cost escalations in road projects like the Bharatmala and the Dwarka Expressway, tolls wrongfully collected by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), favouring of certain unregistered contractors in the Ayodhya Development Project and diversion of funds meant for pensions under the Rural Development Ministry, among others issues.

Bharatmala cost escalation

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the Bharatmala project – a mega road plan which in its final phase would provide connectivity between more than a dozen states – had witnessed cost escalation from Rs 15.37 crore per kilometre to Rs 32 crore, which is more than twice the initial estimate.

2 km of Dwarka e-way worth Mars orbiter

Similarly, issues were cited with the Dwarka Expressway –an eight-lane expressway connecting Dwarka to Gurgaon– which was supposed to be constructed at Rs 18.2 crore per kilometre but expenses have climbed to Rs 251 crore per kilometre.

An elevated carriageway in the Haryana portion was cited as the reason. Shrinate said that around Rs 500 crore was spent to build the Mangalyaan Mars orbiter, the same as two kilometres of the Dwarka expressway.

She pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Economy Affairs (CCEA), asking him to break his silence on the issue.

An anonymous Ministry of Road Transport and Highways official told a media house that CAG’s figures were erroneous, adding that expressway cost’s bidding started at Rs 206 crore per kilometre in a “transparent tender” but was brought down to Rs 184 crore.

CAG also audited five toll plazas and found that an illegal toll to the tune of Rs 132 crore was collected.

The same report also found that unregistered contractors had been favoured for work in the Ayodhya Development Project (massive infrastructure push including an airport), she added.

Ayushman Bharat: Dead 'claim' benefits

The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana – that provides health insurance to the poor – witnessed patients who died during treatment appearing to claim benefits after their demise.

“Claims were issued and payments made in the name of an estimated 88,000 patients, who had died beforehand,” Shrinate said.

Moreover, about one crore and 24 lakh beneficiaries had been registered on 84,000 mobile numbers, including five lakh applicants who were linked to one number.

The Union Health Ministry defended itself by citing that the scheme verified beneficiaries through their Aadhar Card and that phone numbers weren’t important.

Pension funds diverted

Shrinate also cited the fact that funds from the Rural Development Ministry meant for pensions were diverted to erect hoardings publicising the Swachh Bharat scheme in every district of 19 states.

“That money that was supposed to go to the accounts of widows, disabled persons and senior citizens,” she said.