43 ex-BBMP councillors under Enforcement Directorate lens

Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sought details of 43 former BBMP corporators as it continues its probe into the alleged irregularities in the corporation’s Rs 970-crore project to dig borewells and build RO units during 2016-19.

According to an internal document seen by DH, the ED has sought the addresses, PAN and Aadhaar card details, email IDs and contact numbers of the corporators of those wards/zones – from 2015 to 2019 – where the project was implemented. Details of over 100 BBMP staff were also sought.

A major chunk of the funds for borewells was allocated to the city’s outskirts for addressing the water crisis. The role of the 43 former councillors has come under the scanner as they wrote letters seeking the release of funds. Irregularities were found in constituencies like Yeshwantpur, KR Puram, Byatarayanapura, RR Nagar and Bommanahalli.

The funds were released for digging up 9,558 borewells in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Of these, only 1,000 borewells were dug, complaints say. In all other cases, fake bills were allegedly raised to receive payments. There were also instances where 600-foot-deep borewells were dug but bills were claimed for 1,500 feet depth.

The ED has further sought copies of agreements when awarding the contract between contractors and the BBMP, details of borewells, RO units installed and documents submitted (like invoices and bills) and names of the officers in accounts or finance who were engaged in releasing funds to the contractors.

It also sought an explanation on the uniform payment of Rs 10 lakh for 16 mm diameter borewells and pumps and why was the state government’s policy of “no water, no money” not adopted.

The ED executed search warrants and launched operations at the BBMP’s head office at NR Square in central Bengaluru on Tuesday and Wednesday in connection with the alleged misappropriation of Rs 400 crore in the civic body’s Rs 970 crore project to dig borewells and build RO units during 2016-19.

The searches were triggered by a complaint by former corporator N R Ramesh. When the complaint had reached the ED, the BBMP allegedly hurriedly started digging the borewells in RR Nagar about two years ago where the bills were claimed long ago. ED sleuths had reportedly seized borewell material on complaints.

The ED registered the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) — equivalent to a police FIR — under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in November 2022.

Further, the ED has sought details of the works related to the installations of RO units, digging borewells and laying sewer lines with at an estimated Rs 3 crore and Rs 10 crore from April 1, 2015, to December 31, 2019. They also sought bank guarantees submitted by contractors to avail of the tender.

The central agency has also sought details of those who approved these works of over Rs 3 crore and the appointment of a project management consultant, a list of those who previously served as project management consultants, their addresses and bank details.

Further, the ED sought counter-verified documents to ascertain whether the installed ROs, dug-up borewells and sewage lines were working.