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NEW DELHI: Signallng his government's tough stand in tackling corruption, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the report of the high Level Shunglu Committee on Host Broadcasting issues related to the Commonwealth Games.
After considering the Shunglu Committee report and the report on the matter submitted to him by the Cabinet Secretary, the Prime Minister decided to revert the Director-General Doordarshan Aruna Sharma to her parent cadre, official sources in the Prime Minister's Office said.
Taking note of the findings in the report, Dr. Singh directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to seek explanations from the suspended Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharati B. S. Lalli and Director-General, Doordarshan on the allegations made against them and recommend an appropriate course of action within two weeks. It is likely that the CBI, after examining the report, would look into the possibility of registering cases against the wrongdoers. The CBI may also conduct further investigations into the allegations of irregularities to gather more evidence.
The action from the Prime Minister came within two days of his interaction with the editors of television news channels where he asserted that his government was “dead serious” in bringing to book all wrongdoers “regardless of the position they may occupy.”
Dr. Singh directed the Ministry to review the claims made by M/s SIS LIVE, jointly with Prasar Bharati and in consultation with their financial advisers to ensure that there is no over-payment. In the event of any over-payment having been made, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has been directed to take appropriate action for recovery, after seeking due legal advice
The Shunglu Committee had strongly indicted Mr. Lalli and Ms.Aruna Sharma, for colluding with U.K.-based broadcast firm SIS LIVE during the Commonwealth Games 2010 that resulted in a loss of Rs.135 crore. It called for strict action against them under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Accusing Mr. Lalli, Ms. Sharma and some other officials of colluding with SIS LIVE and Zoom Communications Ltd. to cause them a benefit of Rs.135 crore, the two-member committee, in its interim report into wrong-doings in the award of contract for the Games, suggested that certain actions seemed to attract penal provisions under the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, and that these should be separately investigated and action initiated.
“The government may decide on action against B.S. Lalli, Aruna Sharma and others who acted in concert with them for providing undue gain to SIS LIVE and Zoom Communications Limited. These officials cannot be recused from the acts of omission and commission that facilitated this wrong-doing,” the committee stated in its first report.
The panel, headed by the former Comptroller and Auditor-General, V.K. Shunglu, submitted the 236-page interim report to the government about three weeks ago.
The report stated that the value of services provided in the production and coverage contract was estimated at below Rs.100 crore. Certain other expenditures have been incurred contrary to the contract, which are to be viewed in the context of the Rs.147.60 crore (60 per cent of the contract price) paid by Prasar Bharti up to October 2010 and the need to recover the “excess” amount from the SIS LIVE.
“Based on the documents, the actual cost of the contract awarded to the SIS LIVE was at best about Rs.111 crore, thus resulting in a profit of at least Rs.135 crore for the SIS LIVE and Zoom Communications.”
On the role of Mr. Lalli and Ms. Sharma, the report said: “The CEO of Prasar Bharti and the DD Director-General, in concert with some others in these entities, were able to: impose restrictive and inflexible conditions in the tendering process to discourage competition; misrepresent and suppress information crucial for informed decision-making; disregard,/flout established practices vis-à-vis Expression of Interest (EOI), Request for Proposal (RFP), thereby vitiating the selection process to the advantage of the SIS LIVE; extend post award of contract benefits and concessions to the SIS LIVE — the service provider selected for production and coverage of the Games.”
The report said that both had feigned ignorance of an “illegal contract” assignment by the SIS LIVE to the Zoom Communications — an ineligible entity — even though both contracts had been signed on March, 5, 2010, “back-to-back,” and the SIS LIVE had announced having done so in a press release issued on March, 8, 2010.
It said that the Prasar Bharti assumed no role in planning, methodology and management by outsourcing Host Broadcast operations in their entirety, and that it ignored quantitative and qualitative deviations in supply of equipment and instances of breach of contract, including non-supply of key personnel, other staff and deliverables.
The report added that the Prasar Bharti deliberately delayed decisions to accomplish its pre-meditated objective as fait accompli. “These actions/inactions are strongly suggestive of collusion between the CEO of the Prasar Bharti, the Director-General of Doordarshan, and the service provider(s), SIS LIVE and the Zoom Communications,” it said. The Prime Minister also referred matters relating to the relationship between the government and the Prasar Bharati and that between the CEO and the Board of the Prasar Bharati, as also issues regarding the governance structure and the oversight mechanism put in place by the I & B Ministry in respect of such events, to the existing Group of Ministers, headed by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, official sources said.
After considering the Shunglu Committee report and the report on the matter submitted to him by the Cabinet Secretary, the Prime Minister decided to revert the Director-General Doordarshan Aruna Sharma to her parent cadre, official sources in the Prime Minister's Office said.
Taking note of the findings in the report, Dr. Singh directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to seek explanations from the suspended Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharati B. S. Lalli and Director-General, Doordarshan on the allegations made against them and recommend an appropriate course of action within two weeks. It is likely that the CBI, after examining the report, would look into the possibility of registering cases against the wrongdoers. The CBI may also conduct further investigations into the allegations of irregularities to gather more evidence.
The action from the Prime Minister came within two days of his interaction with the editors of television news channels where he asserted that his government was “dead serious” in bringing to book all wrongdoers “regardless of the position they may occupy.”
Dr. Singh directed the Ministry to review the claims made by M/s SIS LIVE, jointly with Prasar Bharati and in consultation with their financial advisers to ensure that there is no over-payment. In the event of any over-payment having been made, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has been directed to take appropriate action for recovery, after seeking due legal advice
The Shunglu Committee had strongly indicted Mr. Lalli and Ms.Aruna Sharma, for colluding with U.K.-based broadcast firm SIS LIVE during the Commonwealth Games 2010 that resulted in a loss of Rs.135 crore. It called for strict action against them under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Accusing Mr. Lalli, Ms. Sharma and some other officials of colluding with SIS LIVE and Zoom Communications Ltd. to cause them a benefit of Rs.135 crore, the two-member committee, in its interim report into wrong-doings in the award of contract for the Games, suggested that certain actions seemed to attract penal provisions under the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, and that these should be separately investigated and action initiated.
“The government may decide on action against B.S. Lalli, Aruna Sharma and others who acted in concert with them for providing undue gain to SIS LIVE and Zoom Communications Limited. These officials cannot be recused from the acts of omission and commission that facilitated this wrong-doing,” the committee stated in its first report.
The panel, headed by the former Comptroller and Auditor-General, V.K. Shunglu, submitted the 236-page interim report to the government about three weeks ago.
The report stated that the value of services provided in the production and coverage contract was estimated at below Rs.100 crore. Certain other expenditures have been incurred contrary to the contract, which are to be viewed in the context of the Rs.147.60 crore (60 per cent of the contract price) paid by Prasar Bharti up to October 2010 and the need to recover the “excess” amount from the SIS LIVE.
“Based on the documents, the actual cost of the contract awarded to the SIS LIVE was at best about Rs.111 crore, thus resulting in a profit of at least Rs.135 crore for the SIS LIVE and Zoom Communications.”
On the role of Mr. Lalli and Ms. Sharma, the report said: “The CEO of Prasar Bharti and the DD Director-General, in concert with some others in these entities, were able to: impose restrictive and inflexible conditions in the tendering process to discourage competition; misrepresent and suppress information crucial for informed decision-making; disregard,/flout established practices vis-à-vis Expression of Interest (EOI), Request for Proposal (RFP), thereby vitiating the selection process to the advantage of the SIS LIVE; extend post award of contract benefits and concessions to the SIS LIVE — the service provider selected for production and coverage of the Games.”
The report said that both had feigned ignorance of an “illegal contract” assignment by the SIS LIVE to the Zoom Communications — an ineligible entity — even though both contracts had been signed on March, 5, 2010, “back-to-back,” and the SIS LIVE had announced having done so in a press release issued on March, 8, 2010.
It said that the Prasar Bharti assumed no role in planning, methodology and management by outsourcing Host Broadcast operations in their entirety, and that it ignored quantitative and qualitative deviations in supply of equipment and instances of breach of contract, including non-supply of key personnel, other staff and deliverables.
The report added that the Prasar Bharti deliberately delayed decisions to accomplish its pre-meditated objective as fait accompli. “These actions/inactions are strongly suggestive of collusion between the CEO of the Prasar Bharti, the Director-General of Doordarshan, and the service provider(s), SIS LIVE and the Zoom Communications,” it said. The Prime Minister also referred matters relating to the relationship between the government and the Prasar Bharati and that between the CEO and the Board of the Prasar Bharati, as also issues regarding the governance structure and the oversight mechanism put in place by the I & B Ministry in respect of such events, to the existing Group of Ministers, headed by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, official sources said.
