The genie is out of the bottle – so to say – and the Modi government at the Centre will have a lot of explaining to do. The big question as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has zeroed in on is, how did a road project that was initially estimated to cost Rs 18 crore per kilometre ultimately spend Rs 250 crore for the same length, as in the case of the Dwarka Expressway. This is cost inflation by 14 times, which is unfathomable and raises many more questions. This fell as a bombshell on the eve of the 77th Independence Day, and at the right time for the Opposition to latch on to and dig further into what’s really happening on the highways sector. The Modi government in its two terms concentrated its principal attention on this sector and earned a name for the way it transformed the road transport sector. This kind of passionate engagement might have a shady side too – and of epic proportions. The Bharatmala project stretches 75,000 km.
Prima facie, a response from the government was eagerly awaited. It cannot afford to run away from an explanation. There were allegations that the works for the highways have been contracted mostly to select entities close to the seats of power in Delhi. This was unlike the previous practice of awarding contracts to agencies in the respective regions. One presumption was that the BJP was collecting huge sums from these contractors for its election campaign splurges, by way of unholy cuts from the allocations. At the centre of the new highway architecture is seasoned BJP leader Nitin Gadkari. This apart, the bigger question is, how did estimates overshoot targets to such Himalayan proportions. Experienced engineers and agencies are involved in the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR), based on which fund allocations are made for each project. It is also a pity that, these days, DPRs are not prepared by government engineers but by private agencies that can make a fortune, even for the project report for erection of a flyover. Such works are mostly “outsourced” so that engineers of the establishment can sit back and relax. Many of them do no work other than pocketing bribes. Those at the higher levels might take a cut from each phase of each project. The system itself is corrupt to the core and the scenario is worsening by the hour. A CAG report by itself means nothing, as we have seen in the past too. It would be worth a check whether even a penny was recovered from those who virtually looted the exchequer in the past. Governance here has become more of a drama.