BBMP engineers allow contractor rights to erect hoardings under wrong legal provision

Four BBMP engineers have been accused of allowing a contractor to take advantage of the erroneous application of a rule and put up advertisement hoardings under the new bylaws, causing loss worth crores of rupees to the civic body.

The Urban Development Department has written to the BBMP commissioner to act in the matter ‘urgently’. A copy of the letter is available with DH.

In August 2017, the BBMP signed an 11-month contract with Ravindra Kumar to maintain 23 city underpasses, and the contractor was permitted to put up 46 advertisement hoardings (two per underpass). The civic body extended the contract by five years in July 2018. But when the Karnataka High Court ordered the removal of all advertisement hoardings in the city, the BBMP took over the maintenance work for the underpasses, but Kumar continued to claim that he was doing the work.

Following the removal of the hoardings, the contractor moved the court against the civic body. Officials failed to support the Palike in the case, resulting in the erroneous application of a provision meant for contractors building infrastructure under the PPP model in Kumar’s case.

Though the court order was against the BBMP’s interest, officials chose not to appeal. Instead, executive engineer of the traffic engineering cell (TEC) Srinivas entered into a contract with Kumar in May 2020, giving him rights to advertise in more places under the new advertisement bylaw without necessary approvals.

While the council had approved a contract extension till August 2022 for Kumar, the engineers extended it till 2025, keeping May 2020 as the origin date, the UDD noted in its letter.

The BBMP special commissioner (administration) has now been directed to issue a notice to Srinivas as well as superintendent engineer (road and infrastructure division) Basavaraj Kabade, assistant engineer (TEC) Ashwini and Somashekhar S, who retired as chief engineer recently.

In 2016, the BBMP was rocked by a Rs 2000-crore advertisement hoardings scam with even IAS officers named by the whistleblower.

UDD sources said the contractor in the present case was linked to a former mayor. “Prima facie, the officials under the scanner are responsible for breach of rules at multiple levels. The corporation has lost crores of rupees,” a source said.