BJP alleges Rs 39,000 cr garbage scam in Bengaluru

Bengaluru,

Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka on Wednesday alleged that the Congress government had engineered a Rs 39,000-crore scam in Bengaluru's waste management and received a Rs 10,000-crore kickback through a long-term garbage processing tender awarded to a private company. The BJP leader, who later submitted a complaint to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot seeking an investigation into the tender process, claimed the contract had been awarded to a single company for 35 years at highly inflated rates, causing a massive financial burden on the public exchequer.

"This is the first time in the country's history that such a massive loot of Rs 35,000 crore has taken place in the name of garbage. This is a 'high-command black-money tender'," Ashoka told reporters at a press conference here. He also released documents to back his allegation. Ashoka alleged that the tender for waste processing and disposal had been awarded to Delhi-based MSW Solutions Ltd, or its parent company Ramky, for 30 years with a provision for a five-year extension, taking the total contract period to 35 years.

Ashoka said Bengaluru currently spends Rs 514 crore annually on garbage collection and transportation, Rs 380 crore on processing and disposal, and Rs 444 crore towards salaries of 11,000 civic workers, taking the total annual expenditure to Rs 1,344 crore. He alleged that despite local contractors handling waste management work in the Greater Bengaluru Area (GBA) so far, the new Rs 39,000-crore tender had been awarded to a Delhi-based company and involved a Rs 10,000-crore kickback.

According to him, Bengaluru had been divided into North and South packages and recommendations provided by the government-owned RITES had been ignored. Instead, he alleged, an unaccredited consultant had been engaged and the selected company had also been allowed to raise loans of up to Rs 1,500 crore with government land support. Claiming that the financial burden had been inflated drastically, Ashoka said the tipping fee, currently Rs 260 per tonne, had been increased to Rs 2,400 per tonne under the new tender.

"Under the new tender, the expenditure will rise to Rs 39,437 crore, resulting in an additional burden of Rs 33,320 crore," he said. He said the South package carried a quoted increase of 19.43 per cent and the North package 19.25 per cent, resulting in an overall increase of 19.33 per cent. Ashoka further alleged that the tender had been awarded only after two earlier attempts failed and that the scrutiny carried out by officials had not been proper.

He claimed the cost of processing one tonne of waste would increase by 430 per cent, from Rs 2,151 at present to Rs 9,297 after 30 years. He also alleged that mandatory newspaper advertisements required under the tender process had not been issued. Referring to objections raised by the Finance Department, Ashoka said concerns had been expressed over awarding both packages to a single company, the 30-year contract period and the provision for a five per cent escalation.

"The Finance Department advised reducing the contract period to 10 years and limiting the escalation to 2.5 per cent. Otherwise, it will become a burden on the GBA in the future," he said. Ashoka claimed that Additional Chief Secretary Ritesh Kumar Singh had written to the Chief Minister, pointing out deficiencies in the proposal. Alleging irregularities in the selection of the contractor, he said the World Bank had blacklisted Ramky for fraudulent practices and rule violations and noted that the company's contract had been cancelled by the BBMP in 2016.

Despite this, he alleged, the Congress government had awarded the tender to the same company. Ashoka further claimed that the proposal had been approved by the Cabinet before former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah demitted office and that objections raised by several ministers were ignored. "The Congress government is trying to make money even from garbage. The entire process reeks of corruption," he alleged, demanding immediate cancellation of the tender.

Later, Ashoka met Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot at Lok Bhavan and submitted a memorandum seeking a probe into the tender process. In the memorandum, he sought scrutiny of the eligibility of the companies that applied for and received the tender, an inquiry into alleged lapses at the Detailed Project Report (DPR) stage and an examination of irregularities in the approval of the tender. He urged the Governor to ensure a comprehensive investigation into the entire process. There was no immediate reaction from the government over the allegation. Ashoka later lodged a complaint with the Karnataka Lokayukta, the ombudsman of the state, in this regard.