Major Scam Exposed Within a Week of DK Shivakumar Becoming Chief Minister
Bengaluru: The Congress government is violating tender norms and awarding garbage processing tenders in order to collect commissions. Opposition Leader R. Ashok stated that a complaint has been filed with the Lokayukta against this.
After visiting the Lokayukta office and submitting the complaint to the Lokayukta Registrar, Ashok spoke to reporters. He said a complaint was filed with the Lokayukta institution regarding irregularities worth ₹39,437 crore in the Bengaluru solid waste management tender, and discussions were held. The Lokayukta has assured that immediate action will be taken. A meeting was also held at the Lokayukta office today regarding the garbage issue.
Ashok alleged that Congress leaders have received kickbacks in this scam. Although two committees were formed, their recommendations were not considered. The contract is being awarded in a manner favourable to contractors, with excessive payments and a 30-year contract period. He claimed that the Central and Karnataka Congress are jointly involved in this corruption.
Due to this irregularity, the tax money of Bengaluru’s citizens is being looted. This issue will also be raised in the Legislative Assembly and a fight will be taken up, he said. The Karnataka Congress High Command has turned the state into an ATM. The Chief Minister himself has hurriedly signed off on this. It is clear that the government is working in favour of one company. Ashok alleged that the biggest scam has come to light within just one week of DK Shivakumar becoming Chief Minister.
The Congress government has orchestrated a massive ₹39,000 crore scam in Bengaluru under the pretext of garbage processing. Opposition Leader R. Ashok has alleged that out of the total tender amount given to MSWS Solutions Limited for a 35-year period, ₹10,000 crore is in the form of kickbacks.
Ashoka said that during the previous BJP government, Bengaluru had earned the distinction of being the cleanest city. Now, the Congress government has executed a shocking ₹39,000 crore scam in the name of garbage. This is the first time in the country’s history that such a massive loot has occurred in the name of garbage. This is a “black money tribute” tender to the high command.
He stated that currently, ₹514 crore is spent annually on garbage collection and transportation in Bengaluru, and ₹380 crore on processing and disposal. Additionally, ₹444 crore is paid as salaries to 11,000 poura karmikas (civic workers) every year. In total, ₹1,344 crore is spent annually on these activities.
Earlier, local contractors from the state were handling the work through the BBMP. Now, a new ₹39,000 crore tender has been awarded to a Delhi-based company, which includes ₹10,000 crore in kickbacks. Instead of the usual annual tenders, this time a 30-year contract with a possible 5-year extension — totalling 35 years — has been awarded to Delhi’s MSWS Solutions Limited or its parent company, Ramky. The contract has been divided into two packages: North and South Bengaluru.
The government ignored expert advice from its own rights company and instead gave the consultancy to an unqualified company. Under this tender, the company has also been allowed to take a ₹1,500 crore loan, and the government has provided land for the project.
Currently, the tipping fee is ₹260 per tonne. Under the new tender, this jumps to ₹2,400 per tonne — a 950% increase. If the old rates had continued, the cost for 30 years would have been ₹6,117 crore. Under the new tender, it rises to ₹39,437 crore, resulting in an additional burden of ₹33,320 crore.
The tender was called twice and failed. On the third attempt, it was awarded to Delhi’s MSWS Solutions Limited (or its parent Ramky company). Although a team of officers was assigned to scrutinise the tender, they failed to do so properly. Under this tender, the processing cost per tonne will increase by 430%. It is currently ₹2,151 per tonne and will rise to ₹9,297 per tonne after 30 years.
Legally, the tender should have been advertised in newspapers, but this was not done, making the process illegal.
The Finance Department raised objections regarding awarding both packages to a single company, the 30-year long duration, and the 5% annual escalation.
Ashok said that the World Bank has declared that Ramky company has committed fraud and violated rules, and has blacklisted it. In 2016, the BBMP itself had cancelled Ramky’s contract. Despite this, the Congress government of Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and former CM Siddaramaiah has awarded the tender to the same company.
This tender was brought to the Cabinet and approved by Siddaramaiah just before he resigned. He received a call from Delhi regarding this. Around 10 ministers had protested in the Cabinet meeting. When ministers pointed out that this would become an issue in the Bengaluru elections, Siddaramaiah reportedly said it was a directive from “above”.
While former CM Siddaramaiah had formed a committee under Additional Chief Secretary Uma Mahadevan to scrutinise the tender, CM D.K. Shivakumar dissolved it and formed a new committee under Anjum Parvez and Jaffer, giving them just seven days. The Congress is extracting money even from garbage, and the stench of corruption is spreading, he said.
This is why there is competition among ministers to take charge of Bengaluru. He demanded the immediate cancellation of this tender.
Complaint to the Governor
Opposition Leader R. Ashok met Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot at Raj Bhavan and submitted a complaint regarding the scam.
In the letter, he has requested that the entire tender process be investigated, the eligibility of the companies that applied and won the tender be examined, the flaws at the DPR (Detailed Project Report) stage be probed, and the irregularities in the tender approval process be scrutinised.
