 "What! Now a Rs 70 crore fraud in India's highways projects?")
A World Bank report has indicated ‘fraudulent and corrupt practices’ in highway projects funded by the bank in India and has sought a thorough investigation in the matter, reported CNN-IBN .
At a time when the government has reasserted its resolve to speed up construction of highways in the country, the World Bank has raised the red flag over corrupt practices being employed by private contractors involved in highways construction.
The report, dated 1 March, 2012, states that private Indian contractors misused funds to bribe (NHAI) National Highways Authority of India officials. The report claims that the officials paid bribes, gifts and gold coins to influence officials and NHAI consultants.
According to the World Bank’s estimates, malpractices are to the tune of over Rs 70 crore.
The three projects under scrutiny are the Lucknow-Muzaffarpur project, the Grand Trunk Road Improvement and the Third National Highway Project.
The World Bank report lists that contractors have submitted fake invoices in order to divert its funds to other projects.The heavy machinery and equipment meant to be used on World Bank projects were diverted to other contractors, the report said.
The Finance Ministry has now sent a copy of the report to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and asked it to take appropriate action.
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