The Crossbill Team
Delhi’s electricity subsidy programme and the government’s e-procurement system have come under scrutiny in a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit, with the report flagging concerns over the targeting of subsidies, possible collusion among bidders and several procedural lapses.
The CAG report for 2022-23, tabled in the Delhi Assembly by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday, said expenditure on electricity subsidies rose from Rs 2,405.59 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 3,161 crore in 2022-23. The audit questioned whether the scheme was sufficiently targeted at economically disadvantaged consumers, The Indian Express reported.
It stated that the policy “did not target the deserving and disadvantaged section of the population and paid it to nearly the entire domestic consumer base.”
The audit found that more than 50,000 consumers who had recorded zero electricity consumption for over a year nevertheless received subsidies totalling Rs 17.81 crore. It also noted that the regulatory assets of Delhi's electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) increased from Rs 9,063 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 27,200.37 crore by March 31, 2021.
The CAG also questioned the rationale behind providing subsidies for electricity consumption of up to 400 units, observing that no concrete basis for fixing the threshold was available on record. The scheme, it noted, covered nearly 80 per cent of domestic consumers.
More than 30 lakh consumers using up to 200 units received an average annual subsidy of around Rs 6,000. In contrast, approximately 16.60 lakh consumers consuming more than 200 units received an average annual subsidy exceeding Rs 10,000 per connection — nearly 70 per cent higher than the subsidy received by consumers in the lower-consumption category.
The audit recommended that the Delhi government review the subsidy framework and introduce greater transparency into the policy.
The CAG also identified potential irregularities in the Delhi government's e-procurement system, raising the possibility of collusion and cover bidding among contractors. Its examination of the system between 2017-18 and 2022-23 found that bidders in thousands of tenders had used identical digital and registration details.
In 7,181 tenders valued at Rs 3,217.44 crore, involving 14,527 valid bids, different bidders were found to have used the same IP addresses. The audit said this indicated a potential conflict of interest.
In another 45 tenders worth Rs 530.25 crore, bidders sharing a common PAN number participated in the same tender, suggesting possible collusion. The audit further found that 12,283 bidders had collectively used only 5,658 email IDs, enabling multiple registrations through the same email addresses.
The report also identified 38 tenders worth Rs 2.52 crore in which all bids were submitted by bidders registered using the same email ID, raising suspicions of cover bidding.
Other deficiencies included 66 bidders being permitted to register without mandatory PAN details, 12 of whom subsequently participated in 28 valid bids. The CAG also pointed to registrations lacking dates of birth, departmental users accessing the system after retirement and financial bid packets being decrypted before completion of technical evaluation.
Beyond electricity subsidies and procurement, the audit highlighted revenue leakages, procedural deficiencies and avoidable expenditure involving the Finance, Revenue, and Trade and Taxes departments.
The CAG report for 2022-23, tabled in the Delhi Assembly by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday, said expenditure on electricity subsidies rose from Rs 2,405.59 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 3,161 crore in 2022-23. The audit questioned whether the scheme was sufficiently targeted at economically disadvantaged consumers, The Indian Express reported.
It stated that the policy “did not target the deserving and disadvantaged section of the population and paid it to nearly the entire domestic consumer base.”
The audit found that more than 50,000 consumers who had recorded zero electricity consumption for over a year nevertheless received subsidies totalling Rs 17.81 crore. It also noted that the regulatory assets of Delhi's electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) increased from Rs 9,063 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 27,200.37 crore by March 31, 2021.
The CAG also questioned the rationale behind providing subsidies for electricity consumption of up to 400 units, observing that no concrete basis for fixing the threshold was available on record. The scheme, it noted, covered nearly 80 per cent of domestic consumers.
More than 30 lakh consumers using up to 200 units received an average annual subsidy of around Rs 6,000. In contrast, approximately 16.60 lakh consumers consuming more than 200 units received an average annual subsidy exceeding Rs 10,000 per connection — nearly 70 per cent higher than the subsidy received by consumers in the lower-consumption category.
The audit recommended that the Delhi government review the subsidy framework and introduce greater transparency into the policy.
The CAG also identified potential irregularities in the Delhi government's e-procurement system, raising the possibility of collusion and cover bidding among contractors. Its examination of the system between 2017-18 and 2022-23 found that bidders in thousands of tenders had used identical digital and registration details.
In 7,181 tenders valued at Rs 3,217.44 crore, involving 14,527 valid bids, different bidders were found to have used the same IP addresses. The audit said this indicated a potential conflict of interest.
In another 45 tenders worth Rs 530.25 crore, bidders sharing a common PAN number participated in the same tender, suggesting possible collusion. The audit further found that 12,283 bidders had collectively used only 5,658 email IDs, enabling multiple registrations through the same email addresses.
The report also identified 38 tenders worth Rs 2.52 crore in which all bids were submitted by bidders registered using the same email ID, raising suspicions of cover bidding.
Other deficiencies included 66 bidders being permitted to register without mandatory PAN details, 12 of whom subsequently participated in 28 valid bids. The CAG also pointed to registrations lacking dates of birth, departmental users accessing the system after retirement and financial bid packets being decrypted before completion of technical evaluation.
Beyond electricity subsidies and procurement, the audit highlighted revenue leakages, procedural deficiencies and avoidable expenditure involving the Finance, Revenue, and Trade and Taxes departments.
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