Scam: With just 1 machine & truck, they dug 20 borewells in a day

Details of irregularities in sinking borewells under the Ganga Kalyana scheme are slowly emerging from different districts. In one such case, Upalokayukta enquiry report pertaining to Channapatna taluk in Ramanagaram district has stated that no record was available in respect to 482 borewells sunk between 2011 and 2013 when the BJP was in power.

The complaint was filed by a local Congress leader from Channapatna with the state government in 2013, alleging that government officials in collusion with private borewell operators have cleared bills without sinking  borewells. The enquiry did not make any progress and the complaint was transferred to Upalokayukta.

The enquiry report stated that in just one taluk, there were no records for 482 borewells. Further, statements from eight private borewell agencies revealed that some agencies have claimed to have sunk between 3 and 20 borewells on a single day in different villages. The official information stated that between 2011 and 2013, as many as 1,168 borewells were sunk, while documents, including particulars of depth and casing pipes used and list of unsuccessfull ones, were not available.

"It was found that such agencies have only one machine and truck, yet they claimed to have sunk 3 to 20 borewells in a day. Further, the agencies and the government departments concerned failed to provide details about 482 borewells. For three years, enquiry officers kept waiting for the information, but the officials asked the complainant to provide the information,'' an official said.

Upalokayukta Justice Subhash B Adi, before demitting office, has recommended probe into the borewell sunk across all the districts. "There were two other complaints from Chitradurga and Davanagere. In both the districts, similar irregularities were found and most of the borewells claimed to have been dug did not exist,'' the official said.