DDA lost Rs 150 cr on C'wealth Games Village project: CAG

Apex auditor CAG today said the Delhi Development Authority incurred losses of over Rs 150 crore in its dealings with Emaar MGF Construction, the developer of residences at the Commonwealth Games Village.

The CAG, in a report tabled in Parliament, said DDA gave a bailout package to the fund-starved developer on the plea that the project was of national prestige, even though the PPP agreement did not provide for any financial assistance.

"DDA provided a 'bailout package' of Rs 766.89 crore to the developer... by purchasing 333 number of apartments... ignoring the recommendation of the evaluation committee constituted by DDA, resulting in avoidable expenditure of Rs 89.24 crore," the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said.

As per the agreement, the financing risk was with the developer, who was responsible for arranging funds, the CAG noted.

Furthermore, the DDA also allowed the developer to construct on an excess floor area of 4,40,301 square feet without recovering the proportionate fee of Rs 65.23 crore, the auditor said.

"Scrutiny of records revealed that the developer had actually constructed 26,06,878 sq ft floor area (instead of 21,66,577 sq ft)," CAG said, adding that an upfront amount of Rs 65.23 crore should have been recovered for the additional floor area.