Shivamogga: In an apparent fallout of the death of civil contractor Santhosh Patil, who leveled bribery allegations, against former state minister Eshwarappa, the Karnataka government on Wednesday announced forming of a three-member commission to clear tender proposals for all public projects worth Rs 50 crore, in a bid to check malpractices in awarding contracts. The commission will comprise a retired High court judge and two experts.
Addressing a media conference in Shivamogga, Karnataka Chief Minister Bommai said that the Committee has been constituted under the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act (KTPPA) Act. The tenders would be awarded only after the Committee scrutinizes the estimates, tender pre-conditions, and other aspects. "The Committee will start functioning within the next few days. If the number of tenders is too many, then a parallel committee would be constituted to ensure speedy processing of the tenders," said the CM.
Further, he said that the committee will approve the work within 15 days, and if a committee succumbs to pressure, another committee will be formed. If irregularities are found in tenders below Rs 50 crore, then a committee will be formed at the district level. "It is true that on many occasions, oral orders are given in the Panchayat Raj bodies. After learning about this, I have directed the Urban Development department and the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department that no work should take place on the basis of oral instructions," the Chief Minister said.
He also warned that if someone carries out work based on such oral instructions then the assistant engineers, assistant executive engineers, panchayat development officer, or the section officers will be held accountable. In rural areas, Bommai said panchayat development officers and executive officers will be held accountable. "I have ordered that all the instructions should be in writing so as to have a system. This will be implemented soon," Bommai said. To a query, Bommai also agreed with the idea of setting up committees on the lines of the commission at the district level also. When asked about the Patil suicide case, the Chief Minister said the investigation is going on right from the RDPR department to the police department.
Probably, these decisions are a fallout of civil contractor Santosh Patil's death by suicide on April 11 in a Udupi hotel, accusing the then Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa of demanding a 40 percent commission on a public work that was carried out on the minister's oral instruction at Hindalga village in Belagavi district last year. Eshwarappa, an MLA from Shivamogga, who had maintained that he was not at all involved in the issue, resigned from his ministerial post on April 14 due to mounting pressure on him.
