The probe panel headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General VK Shunglu to look into the conduct of the Commonwealth Games hired private auditor KPMG for what it calls ?forensic data analysis.?
On October 25, 2010, the government set up the Shunglu committee to ?look into issues relating to the organising and conduct of Commonwealth Games, 2010, and lessons to be learnt for the future.?
The committee hired KPMG for a five-month period beginning November 10. KPMG?s fee, according to a reply to an RTI application filed by The Indian Express, is R2.5 crore plus taxes. There was no bidding for the contract.
As per the committee, KPMG provided ?27 forensic professionals, accountants and risk compliance experts? to help the committee in ?forensic data analysis.?
Meanwhile, the Comptroller and Auditor General is also auditing the expenses of the Games. Both the CAG and the Shunglu committee reports are expected soon.
The Shunglu committee is also paying R6 lakh as monthly fee (plus taxes) to Dinesh Mehta and Co, a private chartered accountancy firm, again, for a five-month period, to ?assist the (committee) in respect of all financial matters including on-site examination of records/documents/data.? This firm, incidentally, is also the auditor for the Indian Olympic Association headed by Suresh Kalmadi.
When asked how and why did it choose these firms, the committee said in its RTI reply that the ?mode of selection? was within the provisions of the October memorandum issued by the Cabinet Secretariat.
That memo empowers the committee to appoint advisors and consultants in the discharge of its functions.? And says that ?budget provisions? will be provided by the Cabinet Secretariat.?
Asked why KPMG was chosen and if he had any association with it, Shunglu told The Indian Express: ?I have not earned a single paisa from KPMG, there has been no association with them in any professional capacity.?