BENGALURU: Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar on Friday alleged that the state had become a den of corruption and officials took 30 per cent commission to clear works and not 10 per cent as said by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Bengaluru.
Modi had called the state government “a 10 per cent government” as no work was possible in the State without paying a commission of 10 per cent. “One has to pay a commission or a bribe of 10 per cent before the work is taken up, another 10 per cent while the work is progressing and another 10 per cent after the work is completed. Sometimes, it is more,” Shettar alleged.
Shettar alleged that state government was granting projects to contractors from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to execute works in Karnataka. He said that the works being taken by those contractors were worth anywhere between `500 crore and `2,000 crore and above. “Dont we have good and eligible contractors from Karnataka? What is the need to give works to outsiders? Corruption plays a major role here,’’ he alleged.
Shettar also questioned the state government on the delay in implementing the recommendations of the Dr Sarojini Mahishi and Nanjundappa committees. “What happened to the socio-economic census report? The state government spent `250 crore towards it ... it is yet to be tabled. Why this delay? Is anything stopping you?” he asked.
He said the state government was not doing justice to Hyderabad-Karnataka. “Two years ago, the CM assured the Assembly of providing 35,000 jobs to the people of the region. But so far, nothing has been done,” he said.