Karnataka contractors dismayed at PM’s ‘silence’ over their graft complaint

In its letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association had bluntly referred to a ‘40 per cent commission’ on every government contract. Not satisfied with the tepid response to its representation, the contractors’ body has expressed dismay over the highest offices of the country ‘turning a blind eye’ to the issue of officially sanctioned corruption, despite its having written to the PM and also to the Karnataka CM and governor.

In no mood to take official silence for an answer, Karnataka’s contractors have now threatened statewide protests in the third week of January next year demanding an independent inquiry into their complaints.

‘Official ploy’

Addressing the media, association president D Kempanna said, “Contractors have to take the blame for substandard works in the state. Corruption in the state has only increased since 2018. We have written several letters to the PM, the Governor, BJP national secretary BL Santosh, former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and current Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, and have met leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah, HD Kumaraswamy and the Governor, but to no avail.” He added that the official response was to ask for ‘proof of graft’, despite it being common knowledge that no one involved in corruption would put down anything in writing. Calling it a ploy by officialdom, Kempanna said no contractor would be able to undertake or ensure quality work till the malaise was rooted out.

The association has pointed out that pending payments to contractors by government departments, including major departments like PWD, Irrigation, BBMP and RDPR, amount to a whopping Rs 22,000 crore.

‘Scapegoats for shoddy work’

Association general secretary GM Ravindra said, “Contractors are being made a scapegoat for substandard work, cost escalation and delay in completion of projects. But this is a fallout of rampant corruption.” He added that bills have remained unpaid for more than two years, affecting the financial viability of contractors.

However, Kempanna has welcomed Chief Minister Bommai’s move asking the Chief Secretary to look into the tendering process and bill payments for works exceeding Rs 10 crore. “We want transparency in the tendering process and timely payments,” he said. He further alleged that local contractors were being sidelined as the state government is entertaining applications from contractors of other states like Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. “The government is coming up with a package system (bundling of works) to keep out smaller local contractors. The tender conditions are being tweaked to favour outsiders,” he claimed.