Bengaluru: The cash-strapped BBMP is losing thousands of crores to dishonest garbage contractors, corrupt BBMP officials and immodest Congress politicians, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George, Infrastructure Minister Roshan Baig and KPCC working president Dinesh Gundurao, alleged Bengaluru BJP unit spokesman N.R. Ramesh, here on Tuesday.
Of the Rs 659.11 crore spent by the BBMP on garbage management, Rs 555.42 crore has gone into the hands of corrupt garbage contractors, he charged. In September 2015, the Karnataka High Court had directed the BBMP to cancel all old garbage tenders and manage garbage on its own. But this HC verdict was used for selfish gains by Congress ministers, he said.
After releasing documents to substantiate his allegations, he said, “The actual cost of managing garbage before the BBMP started on its own stood at '385 crore. But corrupt BBMP officials, in collusion with Congress ministers, have awarded fresh work orders to garbage contract firms which were in the blacklist of BMTF. This was done by just tweaking the names of the firms."
He said that these dishonest garbage contractors were the main donors for the Congress fund and party politicians, including Mr Siddaramaiah, are dancing to the tunes of these contractors.
How is money swindled
Under BBMP, there are 2,734 permanent pourakarmikas, and including those on contract, the total number of civic workers does not go beyond 6,000. But these contractors claim that there are 22,176 pourakarmikas on contract basis, he said.
He alleged that top officials of the Palike, including Commissioner Manjunath Prasad, and the ruling Congress party never checked the total number of pourakarmikas. “This in itself indicates their hand in these irregularities, which take away a major share of BBMP's revenues,” he said.
Contractors are swindling crores of rupees, citing salary to civic workers who are not present. Also civic workers who are on contract are denied PF and ESI benefits, he said, and challenged the BBMP commissioner to parade all the civic workers. Once the Minimum Wages Act comes into effect from February 2017, every single contract pourakarmika has to be given '17,053. This will increase the amount being swindled, he added.
BJP govt created garbage mafia: George
Denying the allegations made against him and the Congress by BJP Bengaluru spokesman N.R. Ramesh, Minister K.J. George said, “It is the BJP led state government which gave birth to garbage mafia to loot money. We are trying to set it right and our government is not involved in any irregularities.”
