Games deal puts Indian mission under scanner
London: In a new twist in the ongoing battle between the Commonwealth Games organisers and the Ministry of External Affairs over who is responsible for the alleged financial irregularities during the Queen's Baton Relay, a CNN-IBN investigation finds that such irregularities are a common practice at the Indian High Commission in London.
CNN IBN has obtained a copy of an official audit on various contracts processed by the Commission.
It reveals that the Indian mission has no system of calling for quotations from its empaneled contractors and excess payments have been made in the past.The audit report says that out of the eight firms bidding or one contract, five are owned by two business groups. This subverts the process of inviting three contractors for a bid as the entire contract is awarded to a single bidder. Besides that, the audit also shows that the High Commission doesn't have a mechanism to check the quality of work. A firm even received cheque for the work done by another firm.
The controversy surrounding financial irregularities during Queen's Baton Relay came to light when it was learnt that huge amount of money was forked out to a firm in London by the Commission for hiring taxis.
However, what's more disturbing is that the report hints at larger, even more questionable practices in the High Commission.
Now, audit concerns regarding tender process, pricing and execution of work are being raised over the construction of a set of flats, costing millions of Pounds, by the High Commission. It seems that the alleged irregularity during Commonwealth Games event was not an exception but the order of the day at the Indian High Commission.
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