Govt puts DMRC on backfoot in dispute with RelianceInfra
11 Aug 2013 5:29 AM IST
In a move which could raise eye brows, the urban development ministry has decided to put the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to a disadvantage vis-à-vis erstwhile concessionaire Reliance Infra, which recently abdicated its responsibility to operate the Airport Metro expressline.
The matter pertains to the two-member committee, consisting of additional secretary in the ministry D Diptivilas and former member of Railway Board AK Gupta, whose report on the alleged structural defects in the expressline had led to suspension of services by the concessionaire for a long time.
The alleged defects have been contested by the DMRC and it’s believed that the concessionaire created the dispute to get out of the operation agreement as it was incurring huge losses.
The central vigilance commission, to which the report was submitted on 13 June, has sent it back to the ministry stating it should be examined by the DMRC and matters relating to vigilance should be looked into by the chief vigilance officer of the corporations.
The CVC would take up only those matters, which would be recommended by the chief vigilance officer. In its directive, the urban development ministry has said when the DMRC board takes up the two-member committee report for discussion, the managing director of DMRC Mangu Singh should not attend the meeting as he was heading the airport expressline as chief project manager when the line was being built.
The agenda for the meeting, where the report would be examined, would also be drafted by the ministry and not the corporation. In addition to Singh, sources said, several other working directors of DMRC could be asked to stay away from the meeting as they were associated with the project.
However, sources in corporation point out that this was an uneven battle. ‘The DMRC is being asked to indict itself without allowing its helmsman to even present its side of the story. This is unheard of in the corporate history,’ sources added.
As reported in media earlier, the indictment of DMRC would stand to benefit the renegade concessionaire of several hundred crores of rupees. The dispute between Reliance Infra and DMRC is pending before the arbitrator.
The matter pertains to the two-member committee, consisting of additional secretary in the ministry D Diptivilas and former member of Railway Board AK Gupta, whose report on the alleged structural defects in the expressline had led to suspension of services by the concessionaire for a long time.
The alleged defects have been contested by the DMRC and it’s believed that the concessionaire created the dispute to get out of the operation agreement as it was incurring huge losses.
The central vigilance commission, to which the report was submitted on 13 June, has sent it back to the ministry stating it should be examined by the DMRC and matters relating to vigilance should be looked into by the chief vigilance officer of the corporations.
The CVC would take up only those matters, which would be recommended by the chief vigilance officer. In its directive, the urban development ministry has said when the DMRC board takes up the two-member committee report for discussion, the managing director of DMRC Mangu Singh should not attend the meeting as he was heading the airport expressline as chief project manager when the line was being built.
The agenda for the meeting, where the report would be examined, would also be drafted by the ministry and not the corporation. In addition to Singh, sources said, several other working directors of DMRC could be asked to stay away from the meeting as they were associated with the project.
However, sources in corporation point out that this was an uneven battle. ‘The DMRC is being asked to indict itself without allowing its helmsman to even present its side of the story. This is unheard of in the corporate history,’ sources added.
As reported in media earlier, the indictment of DMRC would stand to benefit the renegade concessionaire of several hundred crores of rupees. The dispute between Reliance Infra and DMRC is pending before the arbitrator.
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