JOIN USLoopholes galore in TVCC report
After three months of investigation into the multi-billion-rupee fake bill scam, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) vigilance division could not detect the financial losses suffered by the civic body suffered or indict anyone.
The three chief engineers of the Technical Vigilance Cell under Commissioner (TVCC), Ananthaswamy, B V Satish and S Somashekhar, who were appointed recently to specifically probe the scam, unanimously recommended constituting a committee of experts to conduct a ‘detailed investigation.’
The inquiry was conducted following a direction by the Karnataka High Court asking the government to assign the TVCC to probe the fake bill scam. The High Court direction came after many people filed Public Interest Litigations (PIL) demanding a CBI probe into all work carried out by the BBMP in the last six years.
During the investigation, Chief Engineer N Devaraj and Superintending Engineer Prabhakar, who headed the TVCC kept away from the investigation process.
They had unearthed financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 1,539 crore in three divisions - Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Gandhi Nagar and Malleswaram.
The then Palike Commissioner M K Shankarlinge Gowda appointed B V Satish, S Somashekhar and Ananthaswamy in the TVCC in haste only to investigate the fake bill scam. Subsequently, the job of Devaraj and Prabhakar was reduced to that of postmen, receiving and delivering correspondences between the government and the inquiring officers.
Gaseous investigation
The High Court, in its order on June 1 this year, asked the government to probe the case in 45 days. However, the TVCC could not finish its probe and sought an additional 45 days. The investigation has many shortcomings.
The report, whose copy is available with the Deccan Herald was submitted to the government recently. It only highlights the administrative and technical lapses but remains silent on the financial losses the Palike suffered. It also says nothing about the duplication of work and fake bills produced by contractors, duly cleared by the accounts section of the BBMP.
The report also does not speak about the Hundi system, which recently drew flak from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
Out of the 27,000 works, the three engineers could cite only one example of checking the Fund Based Accounting System (FBAS) at Byreshwaranagar in Doddabidarakallu in Chokkasandra sub-division wherein different nomenclature was found.
A BBMP engineer, requesting anonymity, said there were hundreds of instances of fake bills, duplication of works, changing the workplace and flaws in the Hundi system, but nothing was discussed.
Most importantly, the report does not name guilty officers and money to be recovered from them.
The three chief engineers unanimously said the probe was conducted on a ‘random basis,’ so a committee should be formed for a ‘thorough investigation.’
Former mayor P R Ramesh, who had also filed a public interest litigation in the Karnataka High Court in this connection said, “The demand for constituting one more committee is an apparent bid to prolong the investigation and cover it up later.”
For 15 days
Before the inquiry was handed over to Ananthaswamy, Satish and Somashekhar, Chief Engineer Devaraj and Superintending Engineer Prabhakar investigated the case for 15 days. They are learnt to have unearthed irregularities to the tune of about Rs 10,500 crore. Before they could proceed further, the BBMP commissioner snatched the job from their hands.