IANS/New Delhi
In the wake of a leaked Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report indicting Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit of irregularities in awarding contracts for the Commonwealth Games, the Delhi chief secretary yesterday claimed Dikshit had not influenced the decision to award the contract to remove debris to a particular company.Ecosmart, a division of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS), was given the contract to clear debris from the city during the preparation of the Games.“It is baseless to say that Dikshit gave instructions to award the contract to this company. Whatever decision had been taken in the administration was right. The company was already working in three zones of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD),” chief secretary P K Tripathi said.The chief minister, Tripathi said, had decided that all the civic agencies should be involved in clearing the debris. It was decided that a committee consisting of the chief engineers of MCD, public works department (PWD) and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) would finalise the issue and give their recommendations.Tripathi said that there were multiple agencies involved in clearing the debris, and hence it became necessary to finalise a single agency for this work.“This was the only company capable of clearing all the debris from the entire city and the decision was taken because the honour of the country was at stake,” Tripathi said.He maintained the rates paid to each truck for carrying per metric tonne of debris was decided on the basis of distance and the company was not paid a flat rate of Rs280 per truck.“The company has been efficient in removing the debris and given a chance we will award them the contract again. So it is baseless to claim that there was any political interference in awarding Ecosmart the contract,” he added. Ecosmart also has the specialisation to recycle waste material, Tripathi pointed out.“The CAG report has not been tabled yet. When it will be tabled, the chief minister will give her reply,” he said, adding he was replying only to newspapers reports.Answering allegations that Dikshit’s relatives were employed with the company, he said: “Her relative was not part of the board of directors, which is the decision-making part of the company.”Meanwhile, opposition parties yesterday demanded Sheila Dikshit’s resignation.The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Brinda Karat said Dikshit should leave her post until her name is cleared.“Dikshit must resign till the matter is over,” she said. “After the Shunglu committee, it is now the CAG that has seriously indicted her. These are independent agencies not appointed by the BJP or any other party, but the government. She must face the law and leave the post,” said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tarun Vijay. BJP general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “If Dikshit has any remorse left, she must resign, and if she does not, Dr Manmohan Singh, please fulfill you assurance on the floor of the house that once the Shunglu committee report comes, appropriate action will be taken.”The issue also echoed in the Rajya Sabha, as the opposition demanded that the government table the CAG report in parliament.