Less than 2 weeks after Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport instituted a tariff hike that made it the world’s most expensive airport, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has suggested in a report that the airport may be involved in a scam.

The CAG suggested in its report that the government essentially gave away land worth ₹1.63 lakh crore (US$30 billion) to Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), a consortium of private partners GMR Group, Germany’s Fraport, and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd. along with Airports Authority of India, a Public Sector Undertaking. DIAL got almost 4800 acres of land on lease for ₹100 per annum for the next 60 years.

5% of this land (240 acres) is available to DIAL for commercial exploitation in accordance with the contract agreed with Airports Authority of India. Merrill Lynch, acting as a consultancy firm, worked out the land value as approximately ₹100 crore (US$18 million) per acre, meaning that DIAL was essentially given land worth ₹24,000 to use for commercial purposes.

According to DIAL itself, the earning capacity of this land over the next 58 years is over ₹675 crore (US$121 million) per acre, or ₹1.63 lakh crore (US$30 billion) overall.

In addition to this ₹1.63 lakh crore, DIAL has also made Delhi the world’s most expensive airport, further crippling the Indian aviation industry during this tough time. Over 25% of the airport modernization is being paid for through Airport Development Fee (ADF) levy, more than the amount which DIAL contributed itself!

The fact that the government appears to have just given away $30 billion to benefit a private entity for no apparent reason screams of corruption. Hopefully the mainstream media will pick up on “DIALgate” soon, and bring this scam into public view.