Senior Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board engineer accused of malpractices
BENGALURU: A senior engineer of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has been accused of malpractices in providing water and sanitary connections in major layouts in Bengaluru East.
A written complaint was sent by an individual to the Governor on October 15 with copies to Lokayukta, ACB, Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Chief Secretary and BWSSB Chairman, among others.
The New Indian Express has a copy of the complaint by one Ramappa from Ganga Nagar. The letter details eight charges against S V Ramesh, additional chief engineer of the maintenance department. Ramesh also holds additional charge as chief engineer of Cauvery section.
The charges are regarding layouts in KR Puram, ITPL and Marthahalli. The charges are: unauthorised water and sanitary connections provided to 50 villas in Balaji Layout in Hoodi; loss of pro-rata charges (one-time payment for water and sanitary connections) of Rs 18 crore to BWSSB from 3,000 flats in ‘Adarsh Palm Treat’; reduced charges collected from 1,000 flats in ‘Urban Forest’ in Whitefield Main Road, where Rs 8,000 was charged per flat as GBWASP (Greater Bangalore Water Supply and Sanitation Project) charges instead of fixed charges of Rs 12,000; meters for three houses in the gated community of Mytri Layout were fixed but not operational; no revenue register numbers were provided, which means the water consumption cannot be tracked; Rs 5 lakh pro-rata loss caused by two buildings in ‘Vizling Farm’ and there are unauthorised connections in 600 houses in Jyothsana Apartment on Hoodi Main Road.
The letter also charged that Ramesh had a case filed against him for corruption on April 5, 2014, with the Lokayukta when he was assistant executive engineer at BBMP. When asked about the allegations by The New Indian Express, Ramesh denied all the charges. “I will give you evidence with documents that they are all wrong. You can also visit all the places mentioned in the letter and check for yourself. This letter has been sent solely with the intention of damaging my career,” he said.