BBMP in a fix as Barred Chilume Trust takes part in tender

Chilume Educational, Cultural, and Rural Development Trust, which made headlines for its involvement in an electoral data theft controversy, has participated in multiple tenders related to the supply of materials and stationery for various polling booths across the city.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which had blacklisted the trust last year, is now unsure about its next move.

All four zones, which are overseen by additional district electoral officers (ADEOs), had called tenders as part of their preparations for the voting day.

Sources revealed that the NGO Chilume had participated in multiple tenders as they had undertaken similar work during the last parliamentary elections.

Following allegations of voter data theft, the Chilume Trust was blacklisted in December last year and barred from participating in tenders for procurements.

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This has caused confusion among lower-level officers regarding what action to take against Chilume in the new tenders. The BBMP is in a predicament as the representatives of Chilume had submitted a court order that stayed the civic body’s December order.

Sources within the BBMP disclosed that some officers rejected Chilume’s tenders during the technical evaluation as the high court’s stay order had a validity of only six weeks. The trust has apparently approached the court again, challenging this decision.

Senior BBMP officials said that the court’s hearing, scheduled in a day or two, will provide clarity on the future course of action.

It is worth noting that a recent investigation conducted by Alman Adithya Biswas, Regional Commissioner, Bengaluru Division, found that Chilume Trust had illegally collected voter data and stored it on a foreign server.

The report also stated that the trust had gained access to government survey work under false pretenses and had run up huge bills, totaling over Rs 5 crore, in both the BBMP and the office of the deputy commissioner, Bengaluru, since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.