Karnataka MLAs raise concerns about corrupt contractors

Lawmakers on Monday raised concerns in the Karnataka Assembly that some "influential contractors" are "looting the state's money", at a time when the BJP government has been accused of demanding 40% kickbacks.

A handful of contractors and big companies are influencing government decisions on project costs, the lawmakers alleged.

Congress MLA Shivanand Patil named D Y Uppar, Shankar, Shetty and Manappal Vajjal as the four big players escalating the costs of projects. He additionally named a private company "Megha Engineering" and alleged that the company was also involved in hiking costs.

The MLAs were raising concerns about huge costs of irrigation projects in the state. "Four or five contractors have looted the state's money. They start the project at Rs 2,000 crore and finish it at Rs 10,000 crore. Who is facilitating this?" they sought to know.

The issue began with BJP legislator Arvind Bellad pointing out that the costs of several irrigation projects keep getting escalated over time. He demanded that there be a whole day's discussion on the issue.

Some MLAs further alleged that the contractors themselves were giving estimates for projects and government officials had no say in this.

Responding to the allegations, Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol said the government was trying to encourage small contractors rather than big players. "We have paid pending bills of about 4,000 contractors since our government took office. By doing this, we want to encourage small contractors," he said, without giving a direct response to the allegations.

Cong demands KSE's resignation

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council B K Hariprasad on Monday demanded RDPR Minister K S Eshwarappa's resignation after a BJP worker reportedly wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of demanding kickbacks up to 40% to release bills. "The allegation against Eshwarappa comes from within his own party. He should resign immediately until he's cleared of charges," Hariprasad told reporters, adding that the issue will be raised in the Council.