Patna ,April 3 (IANS) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Tuesday demanded a high level probe into World Bank report highlighting corruption and fraud in national highway projects funded by the bank.
‘It is a serious issue. There should be a high level probe into it,’ Nitish Kumar told media persons here.
Nitish Kumar, who has declared a war on corruption in Bihar, said the central government must act fast to expose the people responsible, if the charges were true.
‘The World Bank’s revelation is something that affects all of us as fraud in national highway projects would have hit all,’ he said, reacting to a report that the World Bank has cited bribes paid by private contractors to National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials in order to obtain contracts.
The World Bank’s Institutional Integrity Unit has sought a thorough probe into the matter.
The probe is likely to further highlight concerns about corruption in its development projects and increase pressure on outgoing President Robert Zoellick to tackle shortcomings in the bank’s oversight of projects.
