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Karnataka orders judicial inquiry into ‘40% commission’ charge
The probe was ordered based on the letters submitted to the then Opposition leader and now chief minister Siddaramaiah in 2021 and 2022 by the contractors
The Karnataka government has ordered a probe into the allegations of ‘”40 per cent commission” demand for public projects during the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government. Three months after coming to power, the ruling Congress on Thursday passed an order setting up a committee headed by retired high court judge HN Nagamohan Das to probe the allegations made by state contractors’ association president D Kempanna against the BJP government, fulfilling one of its key promises made in the run-up to assembly polls.
The Congress government has asked the committee to submit a report within 30 days.
According to the order, the commission will inquire into the activities of the departments where large-scale public works are taken up.
The Karnataka State Contractors’ Association had written to the Prime Minister as well as the then CM about 40 per cent commission being charged on all public projects.
“Even before the commencement of work, 25% to 30% commission is paid to the public representatives while the remaining is paid after completion of work. However, no action was taken on these serious allegations at the government level. The new government wants to bring transparency in the administration at the initial level itself,” the order said.
The probe was ordered based on the letters submitted to the then Opposition leader and now chief minister Siddaramaiah in 2021 and 2022 by the contractors.
The commission will investigate whether administrative approvals were given as per rules and quality of work. The probe panel will also investigate whether the estimates were in accordance with the prevailing schedule of rates and the necessity to revise estimates in the event of cost escalation.
During the inquiry, the departments concerned will have to submit their files to the panel, the order said.
The decision comes after chief minister Siddaramaiah on June 27 had said the government would order comprehensive investigations into the major scandals that took place during the previous BJP government’s four-year tenure.
Siddaramaiah said allegations of a 40% commission on government contracts, irregularities surrounding the recruitment of police sub-inspectors (PSIs), the BitCoin scandal, malpractices in the construction of four medical colleges and irrigation projects, and irregularities in medical procurements during the Covid pandemic would be probed.
During the election campaigning, Congress raised the issue of “40% commission” to target the BJP government. Anti-incumbency was the biggest thrust of their campaign.
The “40% Sarkara” taunt originated from the Karnataka Contractors’ Association, which asserted that members of the BJP leadership and officials extract a substantial 40% share from the tender amounts in return for facilitating state-funded infrastructure projects.
Later the Congress launched the ‘PayCM’ campaign, playing on the name of the digital payment company Paytm. The campaign’s visuals feature then CM Bommai’s visage embedded within a QR code. Scanning this code directs users to a webpage cataloguing instances of corruption allegedly involving the BJP. Notable among these cases is the death of a contractor who had accused former minister KS Eshwarappa of soliciting a bribe from him in April 2020.
Former CM Basavaraj Bommai didn’t give an immediate reaction to the move. Earlier he had said: “Let them do whatever they want. Let them launch or relaunch any probe. Let them probe whichever department. I welcome it.”
On Friday, former home minister Araga Jnanendra said the BJP had promised to probe the matter but the contractors didn’t cooperate, and now the contractors are joining hands with the Congress. “When the allegations were made we told the contractors to provide proof to substantiate their claims and we would investigate, but they didn’t. But now, when several contractors are claiming DK Shivakumar is seeking bribes, the association is coming to the support of the government,” he said.
