Bengaluru, Oct 24 — Karnataka Opposition Leader R. Ashoka on Saturday alleged that the state government is leading the way in corruption by making money from waste in Bengaluru.
Speaking at a press conference, he released documents related to the irregularities in the tenders floated by the BBMP for waste and transfer stations.
The Congress government is making money from waste. Even empty sites are not being spared, and fines are being imposed on the waste there.
When Krishna Byregowda newly became a minister for Bengaluru Development, he had launched the “Freedom from Waste” campaign. Instead, a “Money from Waste” scheme has been implemented, he charged.
A tender worth Rs 133 crore has been awarded to Muniyappa Enterprises. This company does not have a GST number and is a benami firm. To get such a tender, a company was required to have a turnover of Rs 10 crore — a rule the state government itself brought into force in 2018. This company had a turnover of only Rs 3.34 crore in 2023-24. Before that, its annual turnover was only Rs 1–2 crore. Eligibility conditions were violated to take a 40 per cent commission, he noted.
Additional security deposit has not been collected here. Even after the Finance Department issued a warning, the Letter of Acceptance (LoA) was issued on May 22. Work orders have been given by BSWML without collecting additional security deposits in these tender packages. Is this company the government’s son-in-law? Ashoka questioned.
In Package 2, the estimated cost was Rs 55.04 crore and an additional deposit of Rs 6.79 crore should have been taken, but it was waived. In Package 5, an additional security deposit of Rs 5.99 crore was not collected. In total, Rs 12.99 crore in security deposits has not been taken, Ashoka underlined.
That means, even after the Finance Department gave directions, they were ignored, and the company was favoured in exchange for a kickback from Muniyappa’s company, he said.
Even though there were more eligible companies, no negotiations were held with them. The BBMP Commissioner or the Urban Development Department Commissioner should have called them and negotiated to bring down the rates. Rules were bypassed to loot. Autos have to travel 8–10 km to transport waste. In that case, even two trips will not be possible, he said.
Land for the waste stations should have been identified first. Without identifying sites, tenders for a total of 21 packages were floated. The tenders were hurriedly designed so that commission could be taken as quickly as possible, Ashoka charged.
Even though Real Estate CM D.K. Shivakumar had said “If anyone asks for money, call me,” he has not given his phone number to date. Therefore, this should be handed over for a high-level investigation or to the Lokayukta, he demanded.
All files related to Packages 2 and 5 of this tender should be seized immediately. It must be clarified what eligibility the company that got the tender has. Where has the land been identified for constructing the stations? There is the role of a minister in this, and the tender has been given to that company for his sake, he said.
The Central government gives money for this under the Swachh Bharat Mission. The Chief Minister keeps saying that the Centre has not given money. If money is given, they take a commission like this. Earlier, flat residents used to pay Rs 40 as waste fee; now they are paying Rs 400. If this money is not paid, officials are threatening that waste will not be cleared every day, he said.
I will write a letter to the Chief Minister demanding that this tender be cancelled. If it is not cancelled, it will be confirmed that the Chief Minister also has a share in this. Earlier, the Chief Minister himself had said this was bogus. Even then, the tender has been awarded, he said.
An investigation should be conducted against officials in the Lokayukta. But CM D.K. Shivakumar is not permitting anything, he said.
I have met Central Home Minister Amit Shah. He has said that information about political developments in Karnataka should be given every two or three months. Accordingly, I will give him the information, he said.