More commission now than before, says Karnataka contractors’ body

Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Contractors Association (KSCA) said on Monday it would lodge a complaint with top Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi if corruption in Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s administration is not addressed.

After meeting Siddaramaiah, KSCA president R Manjunath said contractors are facing more harassment now than they did when the BJP was in power.

“The commission problem still exists. Officials are creating problems in releasing bills. It’s more than what it was in the previous government,” Manjunath said.

This could turn the tables on Congress, which stormed to power in 2023 with a blistering campaign against the previous BJP government over corruption, especially the ‘40 per cent commission’ allegation levelled by the KSCA.

In July 2021, the KSCA wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the cuts contractors had to pay to receive work payments, which Congress capitalised on.

“We told the CM that we’d have to go to the Governor. We are also prepared to go to Kharge and Rahul Gandhi,” Manjunath said.

During their meeting with Siddaramaiah, KSCA office-bearers sought the “urgent” release of pending bills worth Rs 15,000 crore in April.

“There are pending bills worth Rs 32,000 crore. The CM promised us that Rs 15,000 crore will be released in April,” Manjunath said, adding that bills have been pending over 3-4 years.

Siddaramaiah was defiant and said he has not promised contractors anything concrete.

“They asked for the release of Rs 15,000 crore in April. I said that can't be done. We'll release whatever is possible,” Siddaramaiah said. “We will have to clear dues based on the state's financial position.”

Siddaramaiah blamed contractors for contributing to the pendency in bills when the BJP was in power. “Works were taken up without adequate budgetary allocations. Did contractors oppose it? Instead, they participated in tenders and started works. This led to pendency. Are we responsible for that?” he said.

On KSCA wanting to approach Kharge and Rahul, Siddaramaiah said: “Let them lodge complaints wherever they want.”

On officials demanding cuts to release work bills, Siddaramaiah said: “They (contractors) shouldn’t pay commissions. If demanding a bribe is wrong, paying it is equally wrong. To this day, I’ve not demanded money for clearing bills.”