Karnataka Rashtra Samiti demands Shivaram Hebbar's resignation over toolkit scam

The party brought the two toolkits distributed to carpenters and labourers to expose the dubious quality of the tools

The Karnataka Rashtra Samiti (KRS) party on Friday alleged a Rs 50 crore scam in the Labour Department's programme to distribute toolkits and demanded the resignation of minister Shivaram Hebbar.

The Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board, under the Labour Department, has distributed toolkits to labourers in six trades, including painters, carpenters, electricians, plumbers and bar benders.

Earlier this year, the Rs 2.24 crore tender to supply 6,088 painters toolkits in Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Mandya, Mysuru and Chamarajanagar was given to Sridhar Murthy Raghavendra. NCCF India Limited was awarded the Rs 2.16 crore work to supply 3,800 carpentry toolkits in the three districts of Mandya, Mysuru and Chamarajanagar.

The party on Friday brought the two toolkits distributed to carpenters and painters to expose the dubious quality of the tools, none of which had an ISI mark. While the drilling machine, crucial for carpenters, came with no details of the company, even the minor tools like carpentry chisel turned out to be made of low-grade steel.

The party termed the toolkit given to painters a cruel joke on the labourers as it alleged that the compressor hand spray and scraping blades would not survive a single use.

Documents showed that each of the carpentry toolkits cost Rs 5,696. The drilling machine from a company called Tiger had no warranty or quality (ISI) marks.

Manjunath, the party’s Bengaluru president and himself a carpenter, said the best machine in the market costs Rs 2,500. “The Bosch machine, which comes with a warranty, could have been bought at a lower price considering the bulk purchase. What we are seeing is a big scam which needs thorough investigation,” he added.

KRS general secretary C N Deepak said the party has managed to get documents for only two toolkits for a few districts.

"If one calculates the toolkits for other trades and the number of kits distributed across the remaining districts, it's a Rs 50 crore scam. Labour minister Shivaram Hebbar should be sacked if he is found to be involved in the scam. If he is not involved, the scam shows his inefficiency and he should resign," he demanded.