‘No wrongdoing in any infra project’
NEW DELHI : Contesting claims of a cost overrun in the construction of the Dwarka Expressway by the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG), Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari asserted that the project did not experience any cost overrun or corruption. Speaking at the Mint Sustainability Summit 2023 on Wednesday, he, however, added that ministry officials erred in not providing a written response to CAG’s findings. “In the Bharatmala programme, there was no detailed estimated cost.
It was written separately that the cost of ring roads and flyovers would be finalized after the DPR (detailed project report) is ready. In the case of Dwarka Expressway, for the first time, there have been multiple developments. There are tunnels, bridges and bridges over bridges.
It is a state-of-the-art project. Despite that, our cost is ₹18.5 crore (per kilometre) only." He said in the meeting with CAG, officials with the ministry verbally explained the matter and did not submit a written response, which should have been filed. “That was our mistake." Claiming that no person can blame him for corruption of even a small amount, Gadkari said if found guilty, he is ready to get punished.
“We are transparent, time-bound, result-oriented, quality-conscious and corruption-free." The recent CAG report created a political row after it flagged a huge cost overrun in the construction of the Dwarka Expressway. According to the report, the expressway, which spans 29.06 km, is being built at the cost of ₹250.77 crore per km, against the estimated ₹18.2 crore per km that was sanctioned by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). Mint last week reported that the ministry would now try to convey its comments on the issue
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