Now, corporators target additional commissioner

Corporators cutting across party lines targeted the Additional Commissioner of Bangalore South Zone, Dr K V Trilok Chandra, on Tuesday for not clearing the bills pertaining to ‘silt and tractors,’ which are pending for the last four years.

The payments were held back since 2009-10, after the audit report pointed to irregularities in the bills. During the scrutiny, said the top BBMP sources, the officials found that the registration numbers given in the bills were not those of tractors, but of mobikes, cars, scooters and SUVs.

Chandra came in the line of fire during the discussion on the budget in the BBMP Council. The agitation against him reminded of the ‘movement’ against Chief Engineer N Devaraj, who headed the BBMP’s Technical Vigilance Cell under Commissioner (TVCC) and exposed many financial irregularities. Devaraj had to pay for his honesty by taking voluntary retirement on May 31 this year.

Leading from the front, BJP corporator from Basavanagudi ward, Katte Sathyanarayana, said the audit objection should have been rectified in three years.
Soon, other corporators demanded that Chandra be transferred immediately. Former mayor S K Nataraj said payment of Rs four crore in each ward had been stopped, due to which many contractors were facing financial problems.

Mayor D Venkatesh Murthy said Chandra and the chief accounts officer stopped the payment despite clearance from three BBMP commissioners.

'Talented representatives'

Floor leader of the House, N Nagaraju, said, “All talented public representatives live in Bangalore south zone, including ministers, former ministers, Mayor, Deputy Mayor and former mayor, but they were also ignored.”

Nandini Layout corporator M Nagaraj said Chandra had struck down instructions of 44 corporators, including the Mayor and his deputy, to clear payments related to ‘silt and tractor’. Madiwala corporator B N Manjunath Reddy too demanded release of payment.

Replying to the corporators, Commissioner Lakshminarayana said the payments were stopped because the audit section pointed to irregularities in the execution of works. He said he would look into the objections seriously.