Addressing the media here on Thursday, he said the BBMP has been executing sub-standard work, which is much below the prescribed parameters.
“For instance, in the Nagapura ward, newly installed metal halide lights were replaced with light-emitting diode (LED) lights spending nearly Rs one crore only to favour the contractor. Well-constructed footpaths near Dhobi Ghat were demolished and constructed unnecessarily again with sub-standard material,” he added.
Babu said, the BBMP re-tendered and re-asphalted many roads in Mahalakshmi Layout, which were asphalted by BMRCL. The Palike has not maintained ‘road history’ and many a time, they end up asphalting the same road again in a short span of time.
Lack of transparency
He said the contractor, who bags the tendered work, assigns it to another contractor and hence there will absolutely be no transparency in the tendering process.
BBMP grants time to some contractors to submit their tender papers and refuses to accept tenders from other contractors quoting the deadline for accepting tenders. Many beleaguered contractors are contemplating to drag the BBMP to court about the discrimination shown to them.
The BBMP, which claims to have a transparent tendering process, also allots tenders to its favoured contractors through Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL), alleged Babu.
Advertisement scam
According to Babu, documents procured through RTI show that advertisements of 50 works worth Rs 10 crore were issued by the BBMP to a regional newspaper. But when cross-checked with the newspaper, it was found that no advertisement of the tender was issued. Even the estimates of the work were found to be bogus. The MLA said that the executive engineer (EE) does not have the authority to sign on the submitted tender notification, but an EE had accepted and signed on the letters.
The documents also reveal that same demand draft number was used in two different tenders as also inviting and accepting authority letters. There have also been documents in which the same work code has been used for two different work orders by the BBMP, he added.