Complaint To CAG Regarding Capital City Issue

A complaint has been filed with CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) on the use of Swiss Challenge system in capital city affairs. Former IAS officer and retired secretary of central ministry of power, EAS Sarma, filed the complaint. He informed that the issue had also been taken to the notice of anti-corruption department.

"APIDEA law makes it clear that the system is applicable only to the Government or any Government agencies with at least 52% partnership. But in Amaravathi's construction, Swiss challenge has been applied to CRDA in spite of it having only 48% partnership. This is against regulations", explained EAS Sarma. He mentioned that this issue, if raised by anybody in the court, could cease everything. Then if Singapore companies demanded compensation for their losses, a huge amount of public money would be wasted, Sarma remarked. He mentioned in his letter how Kelkar committee had opined that Swiss challenge system would give way to huge corruption in the first place.

Sarma complained that the Government was getting ready to raise curtain to a great deal of corruption through employment of Swiss challenge system. He stated that it was why the Government was maintaining secrecy about the proposals made by Singapore companies for the capital city construction. 

According to the regulations stipulated by ‘Andhra Pradesh Infrastructure Development Enabling Act' (APIDEA), Swiss challenge could not be applied to Singapore companies. He wrote a letter to the state Government's Chief Secretary S.P.Tucker on Tuesday about the same. He opined that Tucker was responsible to explain this to the Government as the chairman of the state's infrastructure creation. He specified that the officials would otherwise be responsible for the scam along with the politicians.