PAC recommends CBI inquiry into smart card scam

Staff Reporter Scathing indictment of the Delhi Government `The entire tender process is illegal' `The antecedents of the vendor are suspect'`No justification for adopting untested technology' 'Any middle men need to be identified and punished' NEW DELHI In a scathing indictment of the Delhi Government in the multi-crore smart card scam, the Public Accounts Committee of the State Assembly has recommended that the entire matter be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for irregularities in the award of tender and showing undue favour to the private vendor, Shonkh Technologies International Limited . The report, which was tabled in the Assembly on Thursday and passed on Friday, has come as a big setback to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who had tried to block its passage leading to a confrontation within the party. In its report, the PAC headed by senior Congress MLA S. C. Vats pointed out that there was no justification for adopting untested technology and this was done against the recommendation of the Apex Committee of the Union Government for introducing smart cards with microprocessor chip. Taking up the matter of inter-operability, the report points out that information contained in the optical segment was not accessible to the hand held readers which would be available with the enforcement authorities and the traffic police. In this case, it can only be accessed by the computers of the department. The report also strongly points out that favours were shown to the vendor. The claim of the vendor regarding its experience in supplying, installation, erection, commissioning, implementation and maintenance of similar goods anywhere in India or abroad and its support infrastructure facilities in Delhi were not verified. "Moreover, contrary to the condition, the company declared that its facilities were in Gurgaon and not in Delhi and still the department found it fit to award the contract to the vendor. The department proceeded with the tender process fully aware that only one vendor was going to be qualified. It ignored the objections raised by the Deputy Secretary (Finance) and the committee constituted under the chairmanship of the Commissioner (Industries) which stated that the due process of tender had not been followed,'' it states. Further, the report states that the antecedents of the vendor were suspect. In spite of the fact that Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had indicated that the activities of the company were under scrutiny, the contract was awarded to it. The entire tender process was illegal as it was started and contracted at a time when it had no statutory backing of the Union Government. Moreover, even the notification, which itself was repugnant to the central notification, did not have the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor. "With the sole objective of favouring a dubious entity the department has burdened the common man monetarily. On the pretext of introducing latest technology, unscrupulous elements in the department collude with the monopolistic vendor to commit a huge fraud on the people of Delhi. Stringent and deterrent action needs to be taken against the officers responsible for this fraud. The Committee recommends that the entire matter should be handed over the CBI for a thorough probe into the acts and omissions on the officers of the Transport Department. Persons who have benefited from contract need to be identified and punished,'' the report states.