Now, Siddaramaiah halts tenders worth Rs 20,000 cr

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has put on hold tenders for infrastructure projects worth Rs 20,000 crore that were approved by the previous BJP administration, including the union government’s flagship Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).

In a note to chief secretary Vandita Sharma, Siddaramaiah has stated that there are complaints that the infrastructure works in question are “unscientific” and some of them have “widespread irregularities”.

These works include irrigation projects under the Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam Ltd, Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd, Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd and Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd. They also include projects under the Energy department and JJM works of the Rural Development & Panchayat Raj department.

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According to Siddaramaiah’s note, tenders were floated despite lack of sufficient budgetary provisions.

“Approvals are due for tenders worth Rs 20,000 crore that were hurriedly floated in violation of tendering rules due to financial and land acquisition hurdles,” Siddaramaiah stated.

“There are many complaints that these works are unscientific. There are also complaints of widespread irregularities in some works,” Siddaramaiah stated. “Because they need full review, all works that have not started and tenders already floated must be stopped until further orders,” he stated.

Earlier this week, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government decided to stop payments to all works sanctioned by the previous BJP regime.

The inclusion of JJM in Siddaramaiah’s note has surprised a section of bureaucrats who argue that all works under this scheme were approved by the Cabinet.

Since 2019, Karnataka has provided 69 lakh tap water connections against a target of covering 1.01 crore households at a cost of Rs 10,380.78 crore under the JJM. This year, Rs 25,000 crore has been earmarked for the JJM.