PANJIM: As the Louis Berger bribery scandal linked to the water and sewage consultancy project, in Goa, gets exposed, (and which we can call  “GOA’S WATERGATE”),  there is a very big question which could open a can of very big worms on the full nature of the amount of loan Goa finally received for this project. The difference in the value of Yen to INR between 2007 when the project was sanctioned and 2010 when money was disbursed, changed drastically and has potentially  given Goa an addition of  INR 3000 crore  for the 22,806 million yen loan amount . 

The value of the yen was 0.35 paise for 1 yen on 14.09.2007 when the project was sanction. However when the first cache of funds arrived in 2010 the yen had gotten much stronger at 0.50 paise for 1 yen. 

The maths goes like this. Thus the 22,806 million yen loan for the JICA project in Goa in 2007 was valued at INR 8017 crores at 0.35 paise for 1 JPY (Japanese yen). In 2010 22,806 million yen was valued at INR 11,803 crores. This is about INR 3386 crores more.

What assumes significance is this. If the government needed around INR 800 crores for all its projects, it would have needed to borrow only 16,034 yen in 2010 with the existing exchange rates and thus have to pay back less.

The questions that the government needs to answer are as follows

a) What is the final figure the government has to receive from JICA in India rupees

b) If the amount is to the tune of Rs 1,403 crores and not Rs 8017 crores, how has this additional amount been utilised across the same set of projects.

c)  If the money has been utilised to cover cost escalations,  the government needs to produce documentation to establish that this was a decision taken at the level of the PWD minister and /or the Chief Minister.