BENGALURU: A major scam with irregularities to the tune of Rs 25.73 crore, involving inflated figures and fake vouchers showing catering done to migrant building and construction workers in Bengaluru has claimed to have been unearthed by a social activist. The number of migrant building and other construction workers has been found to be more than three-four times larger than official list drawn up by the city police chief.
A social activist filed a complaint with Lokayukta on Wednesday alleging a scam to the tune of Rs 25,73,69,236 by Construction & Other Workers Welfare Board (C&OWWB) under the Labour Department. It has been alleged the perpetrators claimed to have given food kits to 2.50 lakh to 3.50 lakh migrant building and other construction workers per day.
Activist seeks probe into institutions
They had stayed in various halls in Bengaluru for 48 days during the Covid-19 lockdown between March third week to May first week in 2020 through five private caterers, hotels and private organizations.
KC Rajanna, the social activist who has filed the complaint, said the then Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao had given a list of only 71,617 migrant building and other construction workers from all the zones of Bengaluru. The list was drawn based on information availed through all the police stations and handed over to C&OWWB. However, the board has claimed to have provided food far beyond this list, he said.
The social activist has alleged in his complaint that C&OWWB randomly listed the number of workers without referring to any list of migrant workers from task forces concerned, that too without mentioning their names, addresses, contact numbers and other details of each worker — which is how the number of workers was inflated to between 2.50 lakh workers and 3.50 lakh workers per day throughout the 48-day first lockdown period.
Rajanna has alleged in his complaint that fake vouchers and work orders for food kits from four private organisations were generated, claiming to have provided food kits to these many workers, at a cost ranging from Rs 22.85 to Rs 100 for each meal or kit fixed on the basis of the menu chart. He has urged for probe into the then chief executive officer of C&OWWB, IAS officer Jyothsna, and in-charge secretary, also an IAS officer, Akram Pasha and other officers, workers of the board.
“It took me two years, to get 8200 page documents through RTI, and I have provided 250 pages of documents regarding irregularities to the Lokayukta, including work orders and vouchers given to all these private organisations, including Sri Vathsa caterers, Shankar nagar, Elaan infra, Puttenahalli JP Nagar, Compass Group India Support Services Pvt Ltd, Mahadevapura, Pragna Sagar Hotels & Resorts Pvt Ltd, Bommanahalli, all from Bengaluru. There has to be an investigation on the amount of tax paid by these private institutions in purchasing food grains, oil, LPG, and the number of workers involved in cooking,” Rajanna said.
Bhaskar Rao’s list
The then Police Commissioner, Bhaskar Rao, had given a list of only 71,617 building and other construction workers during Covid the first lockdown, including 4,497 in the East Zone, 5,456 in West, 2,694 in North, 6,140 in South, 2,133 in Central, 36,082 in Whitefield, 11,147 in North East, and 3,468 in South East.