JOIN USThough pothole-filled roads greet visitors in many parts of KR Puram, east Bengaluru, this is the very Assembly constituency that received a mind-boggling sum of Rs 842.27 crore as grants for developmental works in the last three years starting 2013-14.
Releasing documents at a press conference on Monday, BJP leader N R Ramesh suggested that the funds evaporated in “thin air”.
KR Puram received Rs 167.6 crore under the Nagarotthana scheme, Rs 201.78 as special grants for the newly added areas, Rs 421.67 crore for ward-level works and Rs 6.21 crore as Central grants, he said.
In all, the constituency received Rs 842.27 crore in the last three years. This sum was enough to “turn entire KR Puram into a paradise” but the crumbling infrastructure and civic amenities show how public money has been siphoned off, Ramesh said.
According to him, many of the 2,949 sanctioned works weren’t executed but fake bills submitted and payments made. Under the special grants, Rs 123.06 crore worth of works were assigned to the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL), which is known for its “shoddy” work, the BJP leader said.
“The KRIDL didn’t carry out even 10% of the work it had undertaken. It’s a known fact that the KRIDL doesn’t have its own team to execute the works. It subleased the works to people close to Congress MLA from KR Puram, Byrathi Basavaraj,” Ramesh claimed, adding he had filed a case before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court, besides approving the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), the Lokayukta and the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF).
The BJP’s KR Puram corporator, K Poornima, said development works carried out in the constituency were “substandard”. “The money that has been sanctioned for the constituency is nowhere visible. Should there be mud roads if Rs 842 crore has been spent?” she said. She demanded an investigation by the Technical Vigilance Cell under Commissioner.