90% of ongoing projects kept on hold by BBMP contractors

Bengaluru: In the midst of mounting allegations of corruption surrounding the Congress-led government, D Kempanna, President of the Karnataka Contractors’ Association, has come forward to address the matter. In a statement issued on Friday, Kempanna vehemently refuted the claims that ministers had demanded commissions for the release of bills, asserting that no such demands had been made by any minister.

Kempanna informed: ‘When we first started, we gave a letter to CM Yeddyurappa. Later we gave a letter to the Prime Minister. We gave letters to Siddaramaiah, Kumaraswamy and many others. Kumaraswamy did not take our case. Even Siddaramaiah did not take up the case. I went when Siddaramaiah called us as the Leader of the Opposition. Now, if the Leader of the Opposition has called, it is not fair to say that we will not go. Let the BJP opposition leader call me, we will go. He clarified that we are contractors, I speak only on behalf of contractors.

‘How many times did we meet and talk with Bommai? But he did not give us a chance to visit. We gave him a letter, he kept it in his pocket. But they never called us and held talks. Instead, they released money only to those whom they want. However, we still have respect for him’, said Kempanna.

The BBMP Contractors’ Association had recently filed a complaint with the Governor, alleging that the Bengaluru Development Minister, D K Shivakumar, in cahoots with a select few, was demanding a commission of 10-15 percent for the timely clearance of pending dues.

He categorically distanced the association from a group that has been making accusations of corruption against Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, clarifying that the said group holds no affiliation with his organisation.

“We earnestly appeal to the government to expedite the clearance of our pending bills. At this juncture, none of our contractors have approached me with grievances related to corruption. To the best of my knowledge, no minister has sought any form of commission. The faction propagating these allegations is entirely unaffiliated with our association,” Kempanna asserted.

Our situation has fallen from the frying pan into the fire. Rs 25,000 crores is outstanding. The government is giving guarantee schemes to all. Give us a scheme for the work we have done, why is the government not releasing money even after three months? We will write a letter to the Chief Minister about this. We are not giving a deadline. He urged the government to release the money to them now.

Furthermore, Kempanna expressed the association’s intentions to convene a delegation of its members to hold discussions with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The primary objective of this dialogue would be to seek the Chief Minister’s intervention in expediting the disbursement of funds for completed projects.

‘The arrears should be paid for seven months. Some money has already been released. One hundred crores is not enough. We have appealed to the CM. He asked us for how many months. We have told him that for three years. He said that it has been three months since I came. You are sitting on our neck. We have said that the situation has come where contractors have to commit suicide.’ In a separate development, the Contractors’ Association voiced its opposition to the Urban Development Department’s formation of four distinct committees tasked with investigating projects carried out under the purview of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Kempanna highlighted the impracticality of investigating projects completed over four years ago and maintained that a more timely review process would have been more logical.

“Our stance is one of opposition to the government’s formation of these committees. They laid focus on projects dating back four years. A more sensible approach would have ent ailed investigations carried out within a year of completion,” Kempanna opined.\

Kempanna went on to disclose that BBMP contractors have presently suspended 90 per cent of ongoing projects. This partial work stoppage is intended to exert pressure on the government to facilitate the prompt settlement of outstanding bills.

Kempanna also levied accusations of corruption against former Irrigation Minister Govind Karjol. He assured that substantial evidence would be submitted to the one-member commission currently investigating these allegations.