Sewerage scam in Palike raises stink

More skeletons are tumbling out of the  Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) closet. The latest in the series is a sewerage scam of Rs 650 crore.

The financial misappropriation took place from 2007-08 to 2009-10 when an administrator governed the civic agency in the absence of an elected body and the MLAs and bureaucrats called the shots. Though laying the underground drains (UGD) was the prerogative of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), the BBMP undertook the work in the newly added 110 villages and 10 CMCs on the grounds that these areas were deprived of the basic amenities.

Documents available with Deccan Herald suggest that the BBMP engineers carried out one work multiple times within a course of three years raising many doubts over their technical expertise and integrity as well. As the executive engineers were delegated with powers to execute projects worth not more than Rs 50 lakh, they split them to avoid seeking permission of the higher-ups. In most cases, the cost of the works carried out was worth Rs 49.98 lakh or 49.50 lakh.

In an interesting case, a small locality, Bangarappa Nagara in Rajarajeshwari sub-division of the BBMP, the executive engineer carried out same projects eight times within a span of three years. The job was related to the construction of drains and UGD lines at Bangarappa Nagar.

The works were executed in 2007-08 spending Rs 22 lakh. Again in 2008-09, the palike spent Rs 10 lakh on the same work.

 In 2009-10, BBMP carried out the work five times, spending Rs 49.5 lakh, Rs 49.98 lakh, Rs 49.5 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and  Rs 49.5 lakh respectively. In a span of three years, the palike spent close to Rs three crore on this work alone.

Former Mayor P R Ramesh, who extracted the documents under RTI, said an epic can be written on the loot of public money in the last three years. He said the ‘robbery’ took place in some Assembly constituencies such as Bangalore South, Bommanahalli, Mahadevapura, Yelahanka and KR Puram. But the enormity of the scam was much higher in Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituency when compared to the other Assembly constituencies, he added. The documents showed that misappropriations took place in Pantharapalya, Kenchanahalli village, Gottigere, Ramakrishna Layout, Doddakempaiah Layout, Marappa Layout, Ramadas Layout, Channasandra, Javaregowda Nagar and Kerekodipalya.

He said only a detailed probe by a competent investigating agency would lay bare the rampant corruption in the City.