CAG finds Games authorities allow excess bills

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has found that the Commonwealth Games’ Organising Committee, headed by Suresh Kalmadi, paid extra prices by showing inflated vouchers in the overlays contracts for the games preparations, India media reports said.

The CAG also pointed out Kalmadi’s post games propaganda through advertisements to mislead facts.

CAG’s audit report, prepared after considering the OC’s responses, has shown on some 16 items Games authorities allowed ineligible vendors to form cartels and paid excess funds for identical items, that had been bid for under priced, said a report in The Times of India.

Games venues had been divided into seven clusters.

For example a tissue roll was priced in one cluster for Rs 22 per roll, while Rs 3,751 per roll was paid in another cluster. A tiny refrigerator came for Rs 9,848 from GL Moroform, while Khanpur Extension-based PICO Deepali billed it for Rs 22,957, the report said.

For a soap dispenser, the OC paid Rs 187 per piece to Vasant Kunj-based Nussli India Pvt Ltd. The same item was supplied by Kirti Nagar-based ESAJV D Art Indo Consortium for Rs 9,379 per piece, the report said on Friday.

The audit has remarked that in many cases, the rental charge was higher than the actual purchase cost of items, even to the extent of 185%. The excess expenditure would be much higher if the value of items disclosed to the Customs authorities by the vendors was taken into account.

The CAG accused the OC of introducing restrictive clauses to keep competition out of the bidding process.