BENGALURU: Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituency MLA (BJP) Munirathna has accused Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar of indulging in irregularities in the proposed stormwater drain work taken up with the assistance of a World Bank loan of Rs 2,000 crore. He alleged that the DCM is getting the contracts awarded to certain firms by violating the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act.
Alleging that Shivakumar has collected 15% of the tender amount from these firms, Munirathna said 10% is for the DCM, while the remaining 5% will be for another minister.
Munirathna met Governor Thawaarchand Gehlot on Sunday and submitted a petition, seeking investigation. Munirathna stated that he has previously filed a complaint with the Lokayukta, Enforcement Directorate and CBI on irregularities in the tender process.
For the SWD project, tenders have been invited in 16 packages and divided into packages ranging from a minimum of Rs 45 crore to a maximum of Rs 232 crore. This is to prevent small contractors from participating in the tender, he stated. The last date for submission of tenders is April 15.
Munirathna to move HC against DKS tomorrow
Munirathna alleged that Shivakumar met BBMP officials at his brother and former MP DK Suresh’s house and selected the contractors ((1) Star Infratech aka Star Builders and Developers (2) Ganapathi Stone Crusher Pvt Ltd (3) Ramalingam Construction Company Ltd (4) Manu Constructions (5) DH Patel (6) LIA Constructions (7) Thirumala Giri Constructions (8) Ocean Constructions (INDIA) Pvt Ltd (9) VDB Projects Pvt Ltd (10) RNS Infrastructure Ltd and (11) BSR Constructions.
“The amount of the tenders has already been decided in a manner that is technically convenient for those contracting organisations. Who will get which contract too has been decided,” he alleged.
Authorities have imposed tender conditions to suit the chosen contracting firms. “If tenders were called for in small packages, local contractors would have competed and bid about 10% less than the tender amount.
This would have saved the government about Rs 200 crore. But contracting firms have been promised an additional 5-10% of the original amount, causing a loss of approximately Rs 300-400 crore to the government,” he alleged.
“Since the tender amount is more than Rs 25 crore, a competitive global tender has to be called as per KTPP rules. But with the malicious intention of benefiting the above contractors, it has been called at the state level.
In the state-level tender, if the amount is over Rs 2 crore, a long-term (60-day) tender has to be called. But officials were told to call a short-term (30 days) tender and to select these contractors,” the BJP MLA charged.
Munirathna said he will move the High Court on Tuesday.