BENGALURU: Opposition BJP and JDS on Tuesday alleged a Rs 15,568 crore scam in the Energy Department’s smart meters procurement process and demanded that the State Government cancel the tender process.
Speaking to the media in Bengaluru on Tuesday, senior BJP leader and former DyCM CN Ashwath Narayan termed it “daylight robbery”.
The BJP leader said that the department violated the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act in the tender process and also the Union Government’s directives.
He said that the estimated project cost given by the electricity supply companies was Rs 571.52 crore and the actual project cost for all ESCOMS for 10 years is Rs 21,400 crore, he said.
The BJP leader said smart meters should be installed without charging money from consumers. The BJP leader said the cost of a smart meter is around Rs 7740 (in 10 years. including Rs 57/month maintenance) but in Karnataka it is Rs 17,000 (in 10 years, including Rs 71/month for maintenance). The smart meters were installed for much lesser cost in other Congress-ruled states Himachal Pradesh and Telangana, he said. He further said the BJP had raised the issue in the recent budget session of the state legislature, but the Energy Minister failed to give a convincing response.
JDS leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy said due to the scam, consumers in Karnataka will be burdened. The State Government must cancel the current tender process and do it again in a transparent manner, he said. The Union Government has directed the states to install smart meters and it was giving subsidies for it, he said.
In Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana, the smart meter cost is just Rs 900, but in Karnataka, it is Rs 4,998, he claimed. For two-phase it is Rs 9,000 and for three-phase, it is Rs 28,000, he said. “They will also collect Rs 71 as a maintenance charge. The government plan is to collect Rs 15,500 in the next 10 years,” the JDS leader said.
Nikhil said that the contract is given to a company that is not eligible and a sub-contract for software maintenance is given to a black-listed firm in Uttar Pradesh. “JDS and BJP will fight against this scam,” he said.