By RABINARAYAN JENA, OP
Bhubaneswar: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has flagged large-scale irregularities in the selection of aircraft services for official use by the Odisha government, citing non-transparent procedures, violations of prescribed norms and financial losses to the state exchequer.
In a recent report submitted to the government, the CAG pointed out instances of flights being undertaken in violation of guidelines, increases in monthly rental charges and non-transparent aircraft selection procedures, resulting in substantial losses to the state.
According to the report, the Commerce and Transport department had invited fresh tenders after the contract with Jet Serve Aviation Pvt Ltd expired in April 2021. The initial tender was cancelled because of the participation of only one bidder. A fresh tender process was initiated in May, attracting seven bidders.
However, five bids were rejected because the bidders failed to submit the required documents. Jet Serve Aviation’s bid was also rejected because one of its aircraft had been involved in an accident. Eventually, the bid submitted by M/s OSSS Hospitality Management Pvt Ltd was considered technically eligible as the sole qualifying bidder.
The CAG found that tender conditions required preference to be given to agencies that had not been involved in any major aircraft accident during the previous 10 years.
However, an audit found that M/s OSSS Hospitality Management Pvt Ltd was engaged for government aviation services between January and November 2023, during which 38 flights operated by the company were used for official purposes.
Before this arrangement, M/s OSSS had entered into an agreement with M/s Jet Serve Aviation at a monthly rate of Rs 53.10 lakh. However, the state government paid M/s OSSS Hospitality Management Pvt Ltd Rs 92 lakh per month.
The CAG questioned how aircraft associated with an agency whose tender had been cancelled because of an aircraft accident were subsequently used for government services through the new arrangement. The discrepancy resulted in an estimated loss of Rs 38.90 lakh per month, amounting to approximately Rs 4.92 crore, the audit report said.
The CAG also questioned how M/s OSS Hospitality Management Pvt Ltd continued providing aviation services through an agreement with the previous agency despite the latter’s disqualification under the tender conditions because of an aircraft accident.
The department did not provide a clear response to the audit observations, the report said. The audit also found that the state government hired special chartered aircraft despite the availability of aircraft already taken on lease.
Between January 2019 and November 2023, the government hired special chartered aircraft on 22 occasions.
During the same period, 751.34 hours of flying time remained available under the aircraft leasing arrangements already in place. Despite this, the government spent an additional Rs 6.91 crore on special chartered aircraft, the CAG report said.
The report further pointed out that the government hired helicopters on 22 occasions, adding to the financial burden on the state exchequer.