Rajesh Bissa
Citizen-nominee for National RTI Awards 2009
Reference Number: C200
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Organization: Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee
Nominated by: self
Why is he short-listed for National RTI Awards?
For using RTI Act, 200, to reveal large-scale irregularities and corruption in selection of a private partner for Rs 2500 crore road project and award of other large contracts by Chhattisgarh government.
Bissa’s investigation found that under Chhattisgarh Accelerated Road Development Programme (CARDP), the government selected IL&FS, a Mumbai-headquartered company, for upgrading 1500 kms of roads, but signed an agreement for 2500 kms in an apparently crude attempt to allow an unfair, extra advantage of Rs 5700 crore to the private partner.
The investigation found that the state government had also broken many rules to favour IL&FS over its three competitors.
The revelation forced the government to undo the fraud by describing the occurrence of 2500 km in the agreement as a ‘typing error’. It also led to an enquiry by Chhattisgarh Lok Ayog and stalling of entire work on 1500 km.
In another case, Bissa used RTI to show that state-run entity New Raipur Development Authority did away with tendering in selecting IL&FS for creating a special purpose vehicle that would plan four large projects in the upcoming city of New Raipur.
In a similar revelation, Bissa showed that Chhattisgarh Infrastructure Development Authority (CIDC) granted to an IL&FS subsidiary Rs 1.50 crore contract to prepare project reports of three industrial parks.
All these revelations became subject of enquiry by Chhattisgarh Lok Ayog. The CIDC case is pending in Chhattisgarh high court.
The series of ‘scams’ also became a significant but not decisive issue in the 2008 assembly elections.
Details of the nomination
Rajesh Bissa is the spokesperson and one of the secretaries of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee. He says he has campaigned against corruption in public service since the days he was a university student and member of the NSUI (National Students Union of India).
Despite being a physically challenged person, Bissa has always been a live wire and a fighter, says Nitin Jain, one of his party colleagues.
Helped by his party and people knowledgeable about governmental and legal affairs, Bissa conducted several high-profile RTI investigations into corruption in state administration.
He also used the Media very well to bring the outcome of his probes into public knowledge. First media reports on his investigations appeared around September 2007 and then continually appeared right through 2008, turning corruption into an issue of concern for the public and a significant issue in the December 2008 Assembly elections.
The most glaring instance of corruption that Bissa uncovered relates to a Rs 2500 crore project in which Chhattisgarh government tried to grant IL&FS (Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services), a private, Mumbai-headquartered company, 1000 km of extra road work without the due process of calling for tenders and competitive bidding.
In fact, the very process of selecting IL&FS was riddled with irregularities, showed documents obtained by Bissa.
A June 2007 advertisement issued by the state government said it was building 1754 lane kms of roads under Chhattisgarh Accelerated Road Development Programme (CARDP) at a cost of Rs 2500 crore.
The programme was to be executed in ‘fast track mode’ as a public private partnership (PPP) between the government and IL&FS. The two partners had incorporated Chhattisgarh Highways Development Company Ltd (CHDCL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for project implementation, in which IL&FS held 74 per cent equity and the government held the remainder.
The programme was also described as ‘annuity-based programme’ because the government were to make annuity payments to IL&FS.
Bissa filed a series of RTI applications, starting from July 2007, at Public Works Department (PWD) to seek more information about CARDP.
He asked for the following information, among other things.
1. Copies of expressions of interest for selection of private partner for upgrade and construction of roads, all correspondence about tendering system, copies of bids, file notings for evaluation of bids and documents related to pre-bid meeting, etc.
2. Copies of agreement signed between government and IL&FS.
3. Copies of amendment, if any, made in the agreement with IL&FS and relevant file notings.
4. List of roads to be constructed.
5. Documents of incorporation of CHDCL and relevant correspondence.
In response, PWD released copies of expressions of interest (EOIs) for selection of private partner, a ‘programme development agreement’ signed with IL&FS, and other information some of which was let out only after months of struggle by Bissa and adjudication by state information commission (SIC).
The documents showed that the EOIs were invited for 1500 kms of roads, but the programme development agreement had mysteriously acquired a figure of 2500 kms.
The lists of roads under CARDP showed that that the government had already asked IL&FS to start work on 2286 kms of roads.
What it meant, in simple terms, was that the government had illegally awarded 1000 kms of extra road work worth thousands of crores of rupees to the private partner without so much as a legal procedure.
The agreement had been signed at government’s side by P. Joy Oommen, who was then Principal Secretary, PWD, but there were no signatures by witnesses.
In fact, the entire procedure for selecting JV partner from four bidders appeared to be loaded in favour of IL&FS.
In assessing the bidders, their parent company or subsidiaries were not to be considered, but IL&FS had been considered along with IL&FS Transportation Networks, a subsidiary company.
IL&FS made the second best bid, behind a Malaysian company, which mysteriously opted out at the final stage. Strangely, bidders were not required to deposit any earnest money, but only a small processing fee of Rs 50,000 each.
Cheques of processing fee accompanying two of the four bids did not conform to the prescribed mode of payment, but the bids were still accepted, presumably to create an appearance of sizeable competition.
While IL&FS had asked, in its original bid, to be paid Rs 351 for every Rs 100 of cost, the agreement allowed a larger amount of Rs 384, or a whopping Rs 825 crore in real terms.
The cost was estimated to be Rs 1.50 crore per km of road length, i.e. Rs 1500 crore for 1000 kms. So IL&FS was to be paid about Rs 5700 crore for Rs 1500 crore of cost at the rate of Rs 384 for every Rs 100 of cost.
Given that 1000 kms of additional road length had been fraudulently introduced into the agreement, IL&FS would have received Rs 5700 crore of payment in addition to what it was to be paid for constructing road length that was agreed upon.
The documents also revealed that the state cabinet gave ex post facto approval to the programme development agreement ten months after it was signed.
The revelations were widely reported in the Media. In September 2007, almost all local Hindi newspapers carried the sensational news about illegal addition of 1000 km of road length to the contracted road length.
As Chhattisgarh Congress demanded scrapping of the agreement with IL&FS, Raman Singh government was compelled to do some damage control. It stated that a “typing error” had caused 1500 km to become 2500 km and hurriedly signed an amendment to the agreement with IL&FS to restore the lower figure.
It had no explanation, however, as to why it sent to IL&FS a list of roads totaling 2286 km in length if the contracted road length was only 1500 kms.
Since the agreement had been stitched up at the very top, Raman Singh himself was in the dock. PWD minister Rajesh Munat was particularly in the line of fire, facing allegations of having received illegal gratification and kickbacks.
In November 2007, Assembly was rocked several times after Opposition raised the issue and demanded action.
The government, however, continued to trot out unconvincing explanations.
In April 2008, Bissa filed a writ petition in the form of a PIL at Chhattisgarh high court, seeking an independent enquiry, action against officials involved in the scam, and quashing of the agreement with IL&FS.
The court, however, disposed of Bissa’s petition with the suggestion that the matter needed a thorough enquiry, which Chhattisgarh Lok Ayog was in better position to conduct.
In May 2008, Bissa made a formal complaint to Lok Ayog against every one involved, including Chief Minister Raman Singh, PWD minister Rajesh Munat, Chief Secretary, and Secretary PWD.
The complaint was made along with two other complaints against irregularities committed by New Raipur Development Authority (NRDA) and Chhattisgarh Infrastructure Development Corporation (CIDC) that Bissa uncovered through separate RTI investigations.
Lok Ayog issued notices to CM, PWD minister, and other top officials in June 2008. The enquiry is still on.
Interestingly, the uncovering of “annuity scam” has stalled the entire road project without any stay order from the court, according to Bissa.
A byproduct of Bissa’s investigation was his successful effort to get state information commission to order that Chhattisgarh Highways Development Corporation (CHDCL), in which government held 26 per cent stake, must appoint PIOs and comply with RTI Act.
Earlier, CHDCL, whose chairman was PWD minister, had tried hard to avoid sharing information with Bissa on the ground that it was not a public authority.
In a separate but simultaneous RTI investigation, Bissa found that the state government arm-twisted its arm, New Raipur Development Authority (NRDA), to enter into another special purpose vehicle (SPV), called New Raipur Project Development Company Private Ltd (NRPDCPL), without any call for tenders or competitive bidding.
The SPV was formed with IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corporation (IIDC), a sister concern of IL&FS, merely in response to a proposal made by the private company and despite objections raised on legal grounds by the CEO of NRDA.
The documents obtained through RTI revealed that NRDA was also made to join IIDC in forming the SPV without a formal approval of the state government.
After the SPV was incorporated, strangely not in Chhattisgarh but in New Delhi, the government did not lose any time in nominating its representatives to the board.
The SPV would implement four large projects and result in substantial profits to IIDC.
State government favouring IIDC also became a big Media story, leading to more charges of corruption against Raman Singh government.
Bissa took this case too to Lok Ayog, which has yet to conclude its enquiry.
In another investigation, Bissa used RTI to show that Chhattisgarh Infrastructure Development Corporation (CIDC), another government arm, granted a large advisory contract to IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corporation (IIDC), without calling for tenders.
Again, the government ordered CIDC to enter into a agreement with IIDC for development of project reports for three industrial parks in the state.
This case too landed at Lok Ayog but was dismissed by it in a short time.
Bissa says the Lok Ayog did not give him an opportunity to be heard.
He subsequently petitioned Chhattisgarh high court for a review of government’s actions in this case.
Bissa has also petitioned the HC for a direction to Lok Ayog for expedite the enquiries into all his complaints.
All his investigations were picked up enthusiastically by the Media, including national-level players like NDTV and India Today.
Congress also raised the issue of corruption at the December 2008 elections – albeit not very successfully in terms of electoral outcome.
Bissa continues to use RTI to uncover corruption in governance.
He says RTI has made it possible for an ordinary citizen to attack corruption at any level.
In the next 5-6 years, RTI will have substantially improved India’s social and political system, he believes.
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