The erstwhile Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government not only overshot the estimated cost of the "Sheesh Mahal" project by a whopping 342% but also did not present full documentation to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) during the audit of former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's official residence, the CAG report said.
According to the report viewed by CNN-News18, the total spending on the renovation for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, amounted to Rs 33.66 crore—well over the tendered cost initially.
Though, the CAG report points out that major documents were not provided to the auditing team by the Delhi Public Works Department (PWD), even after repeated reminders until June 2024. It raises suspicions that the magnitude of financial irregularities in the project may be even greater.
"The issue of non-availability of records was brought to the notice of the Executive Engineer and Principal Secretary, PWD. Complete records were not furnished to audit despite reminders. Further, the response to the draft report dated October 17, 2023 was also not furnished by the Government/PWD despite repeated reminders up to June 2024," the report says.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has jumped at these findings to allege the real cost of renovation must be even more, between Rs 60-70 crore.
Because of the incompleteness of records, the CAG report further says that auditors could not establish the planning process or ascertain the truth and accuracy of the work done.
"Further, because of failure to provide supply vouchers with the challans, the authenticity of material supplied by the contractor as well as the rate/make at which the material was actually procured could not be established," states the report.
Leaders of the BJP allege this as proof that the previous AAP government intentionally kept the extent of the reported financial improprieties hidden from the CAG.
The report discloses that the contract for renovation was initially given at a tendered price of Rs 8.62 crore, which was 13.21% more than the estimated Rs 7.61 crore. But by the time the project was completed in April 2022, the actual amount paid to the contractor had swelled to Rs 33.66 crore.
This indicates that although the project was initially approved at a 13.21% markup above the estimated cost, it eventually went over the estimated cost by 342.31% and 290.49% above the tendered cost.
Besides this, the report mentions lavish spends like Rs 46 lakh for marble stone fitting in the walls, Rs 47 lakh for sophisticated smart LED lights, and heavy amounts spent on luxury items like modular kitchen, big LED TV, fridge, sauna, and jacuzzi.
Read also| What’s His Contribution to the Party?' Udit Raj Hits Back at Tharoor’s Remarks
