Shunglu’s googly traps Govt

While Shunglu’s first report (on the broadcast deals) was uploaded within hours of the PMO receiving a copy,this was not the case with the next two. Shunglu’s second report was given to the PMO on March 4. The third report (on city infrastructure) was submitted on March 18. The Indian Express has learnt that there were indications that the government would take a “few days” in seeking the version of the indicted departments/officials and decide on the future course of action. Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta,in fact,received a letter from the Government yesterday asking him to collect a copy of the report from the Cabinet Secretariat on Monday.

Shunglu’s act of defiance comes at a time when the PMO is deliberating on which all departments/ministries should be sent copies of his third report for comments.

The Shunglu committee has now decided to upload its remaining three reports immediately after submitting them to the PMO. Sources in the committee said all the reports would be made public by March 30,a day before the term of the panel expires.

The remaining three reports will focus on problems and excessive expenditure at the CWG venues,the functioning of the Suresh Kalmadi-led Organising Committee and finally,governance issues arising out of the conduct of the CWG with recommendations on how similar events should be organised in the future.

The governance report is the one that has been entirely authored by Shunglu,himself a former Comptroller and Auditor General.

While the Government’s main criticism against the Shunglu panel has been that unlike the CAG,it did not seek written responses from indicted departments/officials and thereby put them at a great disadvantage,officials in the panel say this was not entirely true. While preparing the reports on the CWG village and the city infrastructure,for instance,they claim to have sent several queries to the top brass of the Delhi Development Authority and held several rounds of meetings.

But this,evidently,did not include the top two of the Delhi Government—Lt Governor Tejendra Khanna and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit—both of whom have been held “accountable” for delays and omissions by the Shunglu panel. The Government was thus clearly anxious to delay the release of Shunglu’s findings,at least till the end of the current session of Parliament.