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English daily published in Bengaluru & Doha
Now 40% corruption charge hits BBMP too
By Nischith N | NT
Allegations of corruption that caused the recent exit of Bharatiya Janata Party strongman K Eshwarappa from the State cabinet and shook the powers-that-be in the state government appear to be creating similar waves in the corridors of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
If BBMP contractors are to be believed, the officials have been demanding 40 percent commission - or even more - to clear bills for the completed works. This has put a huge burden on the contractors. Like their counterparts elsewhere in the State, the 2,000-memberstrong BBMP contractors are now mulling an agitation if the government fails to clear the pending bills.
It is learnt that the pending bills from November 2019 will come to the tune of Rs 3,500 crore. Of this, more than Rs 1,000 crore has been utilised for the works in the last 90 days. Besides, the government has not paid Rs 300 crore for the works carried out under the Chief Minister’s Amrut Nagarothana Scheme.
Madhaveswamy, president of the SC/ST Contractor Association President told News Trail that corruption starts from the tendering process itself. “We have to pay a 15 percent commission when the tenders are awarded. To clear documents at Vidhana Soudha, they charge a five percent commission. Another five percent will be charged for clearance from the city development department. The tender review committee will demand five to 10 percent commission. Another five to 10 percent commission will be charged during the final bill clearance,” he said.
The contractors’ woes, according to him, do not end there. “We will have to wait for years to get the bills cleared,” he said.
As there is no elected body in the corporation, no new tenders have been called in 2021. All wardlevel works are being done from the BBMP fund. Delay in clearing payments lead to a delay in work completion.
“BBMP is cash-rich, but no one has touched its coffers because of the issues with percentage sharing. No one checks the eligibility of the contractors. They act in glove with corrupt officials. People with vested interests block the tender process even before it is notified,” says an activist on condition of anonymity.
Purshotam P Advocate and Activist
We have lost the life of contractor Santosh Patil, which brought our attention back to the issue of bribe and commission in tender allotment and bill clearance.
I happened to attend several meetings on behalf of a client in the past three months and I have not come across even a single middleman who offered less than 25% of commission from initiation of tender to closing of the deal. To make any profit out of it, one must complete the work with less than 50% of remaining funds which clearly shows why we have so much ‘good quality’ infrastructure.
Government must implement a transparent window where each penny is accounted for and each individual who has got a tender just fulfills the work requirement. No tender should be allocated without proper scrutiny of the applicants.
It’s time to make everyone accountable and a third party verification of individuals, including the general public and activists, who have understanding about the tender process. Though it seems to be an impossible proposition in India, I would say it is better late than never.
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