A major development is going to happen in the Delhi Assembly today, in which the Delhi government headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will present 14 pending reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the performance of the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. These reports will also include ‘Sheesh Mahal’ and information related to liquor scam. This CAG report includes the state finance, public health structures, vehicles air pollution, liquor regulation and review of the functioning of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).
According to BJP MLAs, the report will be presented on the second day of the first session of the newly formed 8th assembly of Delhi. The BJP has been alleging that the AAP government had stopped the CAG report. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced on Thursday that the report would be made public in the first session of the new government.
Accused of delay in audit
The BJP had repeatedly demanded the release of these reports during the tenure of AAP. The party had moved the court to direct the government to present the report. The BJP accused the AAP government of deliberately delaying the audit to hide the alleged corruption. The issue deepened during the assembly elections, in which the BJP had exposed the delay as an attempt to suppress the findings of financial mismanagement.
‘Sheeshmahal’ under investigation
An important report under the investigation is related to the repair work of the government residence at the Chief Minister’s 6, Flag Staff Road, which the BJP termed as ‘Sheesh Mahal’. The audit has allegedly revealed the project plan, tender and implementation of irregularities. In the year 2020, Rs 7.61 crore was initially sanctioned, by April 2022, the cost increased to Rs 33.66 crore. In this way it increased by 342 percent.
The BJP and Congress targeted former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the basis of these findings and accused them of misuse of public money. Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had earlier expressed concern over the non -publicity of these reports and urged the Assembly to call a special session in December last year. However, these reports were not presented during your tenure, due to which the demand to release them increased.