First, the departments had to pay about 7 per cent of the estimated project cost to central PSUs as agency fee. These departments had been engaging central PSUs since 2012, when the first Trinamul government had tweaked hiring norms to fast-track development projects. Central PSUs carry out development projects on behalf of the non-works departments by hiring agencies. It appears the state ended up spending Rs 500 crore more because of the involvement of central PSUs," a source said. "A rough calculation revealed that in the past three years, central PSUs had handled projects worth not less than Rs 4,000 crore in Bengal.

Source: The Telegraph June 14, 2016 21:56 UTC