Delhi LG makes integrity pact a must for all contracts over Rs 10 cr

In a bid to ensure transparency in government projects, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has made mandatory an integrity pact between the Delhi government and a vendor in all contracts exceeding Rs 10 crore, officials said on Tuesday.

Besides, independent external monitors will be appointed to check the execution of such contract, Raj Niwas officials said.

The threshold for the integrity pact which the departments and agencies in Delhi started to follow since 2017 has been lowered from Rs 50 crore to Rs 10 crore to ensure total compliance, they said.

The integrity pact, in respect of a particular contract, will be operative from the date it is signed by both the parties till the completion of contract.

After award of a work, the external monitors will look into any issue relating to execution of contract, if specially referred to them, the officials said.

The LG in a note to the chief secretary of Delhi has directed that the fresh guidelines regarding adoption of integrity pact and appointment of external monitors in every project and procurement above Rs 10 crore should be adhered to in letter and spirit.

"All government projects and procurement exceeding Rs 10 crore will necessitate the Integrity Pact. Violation of the pact by bidders will lead to disqualification and other penal actions," an official said.

Under the integrity pact, both parties (government and contractors) will commit not to resort to any corrupt practices at any stage of the contract. The external monitors will be selected from the panels of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), or the government organisation, the officials said.

The LG also underlined that though provisions for an integrity pact and appointment of external monitors were to be done way back in 2007 as per recommendations of the CVC, the departments and agencies in Delhi started to follow these guidelines from 2017. 

"He rued the fact that even after 2017, none of the bigger agencies like PWD and MCD adopted the procedure for integrity pact and external monitors, and those who did it stated that their projects and procurement were not covered under the Rs 50 crore threshold," another Raj Niwas official said.

Any violation of integrity pact would entail disqualification of the bidders and exclusion from future business dealings, as per the existing provisions of general financial rules, 2017, Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and other financial rules and guidelines, the officials said.