The Karnataka government on Sunday, April 8, said it has constituted a 'Tender Scrutiny Committee' headed by a retired High Court judge, aimed at bringing transparency and curbing irregularities in the tendering process. The committee headed by Justice Rathnakala has been mandated to scrutinise all tenders above Rs 50 crore according to the guidelines already issued to curb irregularities in the tendering process.
The move for transparency has come at a time when the BJP government in the state is facing allegations of corruption, including the '40% commission' charge from contractors to get the payment released for the projects completed. Recently, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had ordered a complete stop to awarding government projects based on the oral instructions from ministers and elected representatives, and had warned erring officers of strong action.
This follows the death of Santosh Patil, a contractor from Belagavi, who allegedly died by suicide, blaming former Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister KS Eshwarappa for holding up payment of Rs 4 crore, due to him. Retired Secretary of Water Resources Department BG Gurupadaswamy (expert engineer) and Retired Director of State Accounts and Audit Department K Nandakumar (finance expert) have been appointed as the members of the committee, the CM's office said in a statement.
The panel has been constituted in accordance with the government order issued last December. The state government has also constituted a Commission headed by Justice Bhaktavatsala to conduct a study on suitable political representation for Backward Classes. Retired IAS officer CR Chikmath has been appointed as the member of the Commission.
The Commission has been constituted following a Supreme Court direction in a case related to ensuring suitable representation for backward classes in Panchayat Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies. The issue was discussed at the all party meetings held on March 23 and 31 and it was decided to hold the elections to these democratic institutions only after making provision for reservation for these communities, the CMO said. The Commission would make suitable recommendations after studying the political backwardness of backward classes in these democratic institutions, it said.