FCC

CAG Audit exposes discrepancies in BBP-1 implementation

2023-08-16

The audit report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) regarding the 'Implementation of Phase-I of Bharatmala Pariyojana (BPP-1)' has brought to light significant revelations. The report highlights that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Board sanctioned the Dwarka Expressway at a civil cost of Rs 72.87 billion, equating to Rs 2.50 billion per kilometre. This stands in stark contrast to the per kilometre civil cost of Rs 182 million that had been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

In addition, the report uncovers that the Delhi-Vadodara Expressway, with an estimated civil cost of approximately Rs 328.39 billion, was endorsed by the NHAI Board even though it had not been included in the list of BPP-I projects approved by the CCEA.

The report sheds light on the fact that NHAI was responsible for the development of 70,950 km out of the designated 76,999 km of national highways for BPP-I. The NHAI was granted the authority to determine the construction approach for its projects. However, the audit discerned that NHAI was making decisions about construction methods without proper documented justifications.

According to the CAG report, "The audit also noticed that the evaluation and approval framework initially proposed to the CCEA failed to establish clear definitions for the terms 'project' and 'package'. As a result, the determination of whether construction packages within a single project should be regarded as individual projects or combined as one comprehensive project lacked clarity."

The CAG report further expounds that the appraisal and endorsement framework stipulated by the CCEA for BPP-I was not being adhered to by the entities responsible for project execution.

"The analysis encompassed a sample of 50 NHAI projects, and among these, eight projects had not undergone appraisal by the Project Appraisal and Technical Scrutiny Committee. This omission occurred due to the projects either being evaluated under the previous NHDP program or classified as balance works or one-time improvement initiatives," the report elucidated.