CAG findings put Palike in tight spot
The irregularities in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike pointed out in the report of Comptroller and Auditor General has put the civic agency on the back foot.
The CAG observations of the Palike helping contractors’ lobby has put the BBMP in a fix. Palike Commissioner Shankaralinge Gowda told Deccan Herald on Monday that the Palike cannot deny any instance referred to in the CAG report.
“The report is based on facts which the CAG has prepared. We cannot deny any of these things having happened previously in the BBMP,” he said.
The report, apart from listing out instances of misappropriation, has also commented on the failure of the BBMP engineering department in securing the approval of quality control (QC) cell before embarking on the projects.
Gowda said the QC cell, which also acts as the Technical Vigilance Committee under the Commissioner (TVCC), failed to go to the spot during the execution of projects.
“Certainly, most projects have to be checked for quality control. In certain cases, it appears that the TVCC has not gone to the sites to conduct inspections,” he said.
Gowda said most of the anomalies in the functioning of the BBMP need to be set right.
He said a systemic change was the need of the hour. “We need to set the things right to avoid any further problems,” he opined. As part of the change, Gowda said all projects ‘pushed’ by the local engineers as ‘emergency’ projects had been halted.
He said the Palike has stopped sanctioning projects listed as emergency since December 2011. The meaning of emergency projects has been redefined, he added.
