BJP's corruption & loot taking nation on highway to hell: Kharge on Dwarka expressway CAG report

Reacting to the 'deficiencies, violation of bidding process and mismanagement of fund' in Bharatmala Pariyojna Phase-1, flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday slammed the Modi government for "taking the nation on a highway to hell".

Citing the CAG report, tabled in Parliament on August 10, Kharge said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should look within before harping on corruption by his political opponents.

"BJP's corruption and loot is (are) taking the nation on a highway to hell," Kharge said on X (formerly Twitter).

In a scathing attack on the Modi government, the Congress president said that the Dwarka Expressway is one of the stark examples of the "fraud" in this scheme.

CAG has said that the "cost of this project was originally estimated at Rs 528.8 crore but later increased to Rs 7,287.2 crore by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Board .

"A whopping 1,278 per cent increase," said Kharge.

"Dwarka Expressway was appraised and approved without any detailed project report. The planned toll rates shall hinder the recovery of capital cost of the project and result in undue financial burden on commuters," he said.

Further, citing the report, the Congress leader said the lLane configurations of the Dwarka Expressway were determined without analysing the development of nearby competing infrastructure and the construction was done with suboptimal specifications.

"Pradhan Mantri ji, you need to look within, before you harp about corruption against your opponents, because you are overseeing it yourself. In 2024, INDIA will make your government accountable," Kharge said.

The report also revealed that the Delhi-Vadodara Expressway with civil cost of around Rs 32,839 crore which was not included in the CCEA approved list of BPP-I projects was approved at the level of NHAI Board.