Justice Rathnakala heads panel to vet Karnataka tenders above Rs 50 crore
‘40% commission’ allegations are serious concern for Karnataka BJP govt ahead of 2023 polls
BENGALURU:
Even as the allegations by Karnataka contractors about a ‘40% commission raj’ for getting work contracts and geting payments released for completed projects continue to haunt the state government, the Basavaraj Bommai-led Karnataka government has constituted a ‘Tender Scrutiny Committee’ headed by a retired High Court judge.
The move is aimed at bringing transparency and curbing irregularities in the tendering process. The committee will be headed by Justice Rathnakala and has been mandated to scrutinise all tenders above Rs 50 crore, according to the guidelines already issued to curb irregularities in the tendering process.
Other members
Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) ISN Prasad issued an order on Sunday to the effect that retired Secretary of the Water Resources Department BG Gurupadaswamy (an expert engineer) and retired Director of the state Accounts and Audit Department K Nandakumar (a finance expert) have been appointed members of the committee.
The office of the committee, will be located in the Public Works Department. The consolidated remuneration payable to the retired High Court judge and the two other members is fixed at Rs 2,00,000 per month and Rs.1,00,000 per month respectively. Besides, their residence telephone charges, including broadband and mobile, not exceeding Rs 3,000 per month for each member, will be paid by the government, the order reads.
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