CAG raps use of Chinese steel frames
The Comptroller and Auditor General has raised serious questions about use of pre-fabricated steel frames imported from China for construction of the signature bridge, modelled on the London Bridge, across the Yamuna in East Delhi.
In a draft report, the CAG has objected to procurement of steel frames from China in violation of contractual norms and said the Delhi government agency implementing the project does not have any mechanism to check quality of material and fabrication work being done in China.
The CAG also slammed Delhi government for escalation of the project cost by `672 crore against the initial estimate. The government in March 2006 had estimated total cost of `459 crores for the bridge construction which went up to `1,131 crores when the project was finalised in February 2010.
The Delhi Tourism and Transportation Develop-ment Corporation (DTTDC) is executing the `1,131-crore project which is likely to be completed by 2014.
The CAG said as per the contractual agreement, fabrication and assembling of steel frames and pylons were to be carried out in three selected fabrication workshops or in similar steel assembling factories with approval from the engineer-in-charge of the project but the contractor procured them from China violating norms.
Designed as a replica of the famous London bridge, the 575-metre-long and 175-metre-high bridge will have bow-shaped pylon with cables. In its reply, the DTTDC said the CAG “inferred” it “wrongly” that only Indian workshops were to be engaged for fabrication of steel component and that the contractor had hired a firm to ascertain quality of material imported from China.
However, the CAG rejected DTTDC’s explanation and said assessment of quality of the material by a firm appointed by the contractor cannot be taken seriously.
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