Vigilance U-turn casts doubt on fake bill scam

The Rs 10-crore fake billing scam in the BBMP has taken a fresh twist. Documents show that vigilance officials, who recently submitted a damning report against the company in contention, had okayed its works a year ago.

JMC Construction Pvt Ltd says it is just a ploy to exclude it from the Rs 1,015-crore tender where it has emerged the lowest bidder.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner had earlier suspended ward-level officials “for their role” in the scam and blacklisted JMC Construction Pvt Ltd, which had raised a bill of Rs 10 crore for asphalting, drainage and other works in Govindarajanagar.

The action came after the Technical Vigilance Cell under Commissioner (TVCC) submitted a report that payments were made, though the works were not taken up.

It has emerged now that the same TVCC had approved the works of the company and cleared the bills in 2018. It had also uploaded the progress of the project in its Integrated Financial Management System on the BBMP website along with the work taken up in the project and job code.

In another case of affirmation, the Executive Engineer (EE) of Chandra Layout division had in October 2018 written to the same company, stating that 92% of works were done and that the remaining work should be taken up expeditiously.

Sources said the first cries of a “scam” came after the tender for white-topping Phase-3 was opened on May 25, 2019, in which the JMC company turned out to be the lowest bidder. An official who did not wish to be identified said, “After tender was opened, an investigation was ordered. The firm was asked to withdraw its bid with an intention to award the work to a company next in line. JMC refused and the rest (scam allegation) has happened,” he said.

The official questioned how the TVCC could give a negative report after certifying the work earlier.

“In fact, TVCC officials had posted photos of the work on BBMP’s website earlier. First, action should be taken against them for certifying it,” the official said.

In its reply to the BBMP’s show-cause notice, JMC had written: “These allegations not only tarnish our image but are also designed to prevent us from obtaining other prestigious projects in BBMP such as Package 1 of white-topping Phase 3. Employer’s mala fide intention to blacklist us and award the contract to L-2 is a clear violation of the KTPP Act which has penal provisions of up to 2 years. It is also a case where your officers in TVCC have plotted with the L-2 contractor and clearly misled you by submitting an erroneous report.”

When contacted, BBMP Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad said he will check whether the TVCC had in fact given clearance for the work.

“I will also check if they certified the payment. But the TVCC just uploads the work details and scrutinises documents which are submitted by officials,” he said.