Sreedharan panel to submit report on airport upgrade today

A high-powered experts committee headed by Delhi Metro Chief E Sreedharan, which was given the task of studying the modernisation and restructuring process of Delhi and Mumbai airports, will submit its recommendations to Cabinet Secretary B K Chaturvedi tomorrow.

The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on the matter had last month set up a five-member committee led by the cabinet secretary, which had in turn set up the Sreedharan committee to advise it on whether the overall process was in conformity with the norms laid down for shortlisting and final selection of bidders.

The report of the experts' committee is likely to determine the direction in which the cabinet secretary committee will give its advice to the EGoM on the entire matter. Difference of opinion in the inter-ministerial group of officials had prompted the EGoM to set up the committee headed by the cabinet secretary to evaluate the process once again.

The Sreedharan panel, which also includes Financial Controller of Indian Railways Sivadasan and top officials of the Airports Authority of India and Directorate-General of Civil Aviation, was asked to make comprehensive scrutiny of the bid criteria, especially their technical and financial aspects and find out whether the norms were followed in the entire process.

The Left parties have been demanding scrapping of the bid process, alleging there was "conflict of interests" between some bidders and the officially-appointed consultants and saying that the process had thrown up a single-bidder scenario for each airport with only two bidders "" Reliance and GMR Group "" being reportedly shortlisted for the two airports.

Six bidders, including two consortia led by Reliance and GMR Groups, are in the fray for the modernisation.

Two selected bidders would form two joint ventures with the AAI to undertake the modernisation work at the Delhi and Mumbai airports.