Task force kept out of ACB purview

HYDERABAD: The state government’s decision to put a crucial task force outside the ambit of investigation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Andhra Pradesh Vigilance Commission (APVC) has raised eyebrows among official circles.
Officials say it curtails the jurisdiction of watchdog bodies with serious implications for transparency of governance.The task force oversees the implementation of 31 major infrastructure projects. The chief secretary chairs it and the principal secretary (finance), principal secretary transport, roads & buildings), principal secretary (municipal administration and urban development) and other senior officials are its members.
The projects under the purview of the task force include the Hyderabad international airport, Gangavaram port, development of the Vizag airport, biotechnology park, Tada-Itchapuram highway, and the Hyderabad mass transport system.
The task force is responsible for obtaining permissions, procedures for inviting tenders and award of contracts, execution of projects and also decide upon consultancies to be awarded for the 31 projects.
The government said it put the task force beyond the watchdog glare in order “to ensure that the decisions taken by the task force in the economic interests of the state are not dragged into controversies and subsequent inquiries.�
However, officials said this will imply that decisions taken by the task force on crucial projects will go unscrutinised.
Asked to react to the government decision, V K Srinivasan, former chairman of the commissionerate of inquiries, said, “It is not clear how mega infrastructure projects are any different from other matters requiring discretionary decisions involving public funds. The order appears to be rather naive and injurious to public interest and expenditure management.�
Senior officials of the ACB said — speaking on condition of anonymity — that the order goes against the spirit of the guidelines governing investigating agencies.
A senior bureaucrat, however, said the order would expedite decision-making where large financial commitments are involved. The task force oversees the implementation of 31 major projects Chief secretary heads the panel, while senior officials are its members Prestigious projects like Hyderabad international airport, Vizag airport, Hyderabad mass transport system are being handled by the panel.