Lokayukta unearths a Rs 118.26-crore scam in BBMP

A Lokayukta probe has unearthed a Rs 118.26-crore scam in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Funds released for the RR Nagar assembly constituency under the chief minister’s Nava Nagarothana programme were misused by submitting fake bills to the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Corporation (KRIDL), the anti-corruption watchdog has found.

The probe was conducted following a complaint from Bangalore Rural MP D K Suresh in September 2020.

The investigation was conducted by Lokayukta Justice P Vishwanath Shetty, who retired on January 27. A 60-page report was submitted to the government on January 24.

The Congress parliamentarian had alleged that Rs 250 crore earmarked for 126 projects was gobbled up in January 2020 without any of the works being carried out. He had demanded the arrest of BBMP and KRIDL engineers.

The Lokayukta report mentions glaring loopholes in the way 114 works were carried out. Only two works were found to be executed properly. “Some works were not executed at all. A few works were poorly executed while others were taken up without following the tender conditions,” the report states.

The report also recommends disciplinary action against officers in two months.

The engineers who are under the scanner are A B Doddaiah, Chief Engineer in the BBMP’s Technical Vigilance Cell under Commissioner (TVCC); Sathish, assistant executive engineer, TVCC; Basavaraj, executive engineer, RR Nagar; Siddaramaiah, assistant engineer (Ward 129 and 160); Umesh, assistant executive engineer (Ward 73); Chandranath, assistant executive engineer, KRIDL; Venkatalaskmi, assistant executive engineer, TVCC, and Shreetej, assistant executive engineer, TVCC.

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