The government has appointed a senior official from the Audit and Accounts Department to investigate the ‘Rs 17-crore scam’ in the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).
The Finance Department has issued an order appointing Mahadeva, Additional Director of the Audit and Accounts Department, following a request for an audit by the Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre.
Documents show that the KSPCB, in February this year, approved an expenditure of Rs 17.85 crore. A ‘Single Source Committee’, headed by KSPCB Chairman Shanth Thimmaiah, approved the procurement of services from private agencies without calling competitive bids as per the law.
The rule was introduced as a measure to avoid arbitrary decisions which were usually linked to corruption.
The latest development comes in the wake of an order by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to investigate the matter.
As per the complaint raised by MLC P R Ramesh, Thimmaiah and other officials bypassed the rules under Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act and awarded work orders worth Rs 17 crore to five agencies.
The committee comprised an official each from the Tourism and Information and Public Relations Departments as well as Suresh Bhagavatula, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management. A KSPCB officer was made member convener.
The MLC had alleged that the expenditure of a huge sum during the fag end of the BJP government and in the run-up to the election. “The services were procured for an awareness programme which didn’t have any framework,” Ramesh had noted.
Sources said the minister looked into the documents and made a file noting requesting a detailed inquiry. “The entire file has been sent to the Finance Department requesting for an official to scrutinise the KSPCB’s expenditure,” the sources said.