BBMP tenders must be floated

Exemptions defeat the purpose of the KTPP Act

Over the years, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has gained notoriety for awarding contracts on a piecemeal basis, that is, breaking large projects into small bits in order to avoid calling for tenders so that works can be granted to certain favourite contractors. Now, close on the heels of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai ordering an audit into the spending of Rs 20,000 crore on the upkeep of Bengaluru’s virtually non-existent roads, BBMP has sought government exemption from floating tenders for works worth Rs 1,710 crore. The state had adopted the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act in 2000, to prevent irregularities in the procurement of goods and services and to streamline the tendering process. BBMP is obviously seeking to misuse Section 4 (a) which provides for an exemption from the Act “during periods of natural calamity or emergency declared by the government”. The break-up of the works is as follows: road repair (Rs 600 crore), stormwater drain (Rs 411.33 crore), infrastructure (Rs 100 crore), solid waste management (Rs 50 crore) and control rooms Rs 10 crore).

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Most roads were anyway in pathetic condition and in urgent need of repairs for long, even before the recent rains and the BBMP had enough and more time to call for tenders. While the government has not declared a natural calamity or an emergency following the rains, there are provisions under the Act to call for short-term tenders to meet certain exigencies. Thus, invoking Section 4 (a) is highly suspicious and gives rise to serious doubts that the intentions are not honourable. The recent letter to the Prime Minister by the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association that a bribe of up to 40% has to be paid for obtaining projects and getting the bills cleared has further strengthened such worries. Last month, the BBMP was accused of spending Rs 35.50 crore for white-topping just one kilometre of the road without calling for tenders.

The government itself needs to be blamed for repeatedly transgressing the letter and spirit of the Act, thereby encouraging other bodies to follow suit. In July this year, the then Yediyurappa government had pushed through a controversial amendment to the Act which exempted the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Corporation from calling for tenders for works up to Rs 2 crore, despite objections from the Advocate General, law and finance departments and anti-graft activities. If Bommai is really serious about stemming the rot in BBMP, he should refuse the exemption sought and direct it to call for tenders. Such exemptions on frivolous grounds defeat the very purpose of the KTPP Act and encourage opaqueness instead of transparency, thereby breeding corruption.

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