The Karnataka cabinet gave its nod to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into allegations of corruption (40 per cent kickbacks on contracts) made by civil contractors against the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government. The decision to form the SIT was taken based on a two-volume report submitted by Justice Nagmohan Das committee that examined a sample of 1,729 civil contracts awarded by the BJP government and found irregularities like overpayments than the sanctioned amount, interference in the tender process, and out of turn issuing of NOCs to facilitate bill payments.

Ironically, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government is now also facing similar allegations of corruption.

The Karnataka State Contractors’ Association, in a letter addressed to Chief Minister  Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi and Minor Irrigation Minister N.S. Boseraju, have sought an audience from the government raising concern over the pending bills of ₹32,000 crore and the increasing interference by middlemen and relatives of the ministers in government departments. The Association has accused “invisible hands” of interfering in clearing the bills and favouring influential contractors by floating the norms of seniority.

The contractors alleged that the PWD and irrigation corporations had been withholding payments upto ₹50 lakh and also issuing special Letters of Credit (LoCs) that are usually meant for emergencies (health or family events) to favour some contractors.

The BJP slammed the ruling Congress stating that corruption in Karnataka had now been institutionalised.

“Only large contractors are getting their bills passed, while small contractors continue to suffer. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the poll campaign in Karnataka, had cautioned that if Congress came to power, the state would become an ATM of corruption. It has come true today,”  said BJP national spokesperson Pratyush Kanth, adding that economic adviser to the chief minister, Basavaraj Rayareddi, had confirmed that Karnataka was No 1 state in corruption.

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar suggested that the contractors should approach the Lokayukta and not the ministers if they were being asked to pay bribes. He denied there was any interference and said, “The previous BJP government had left behind unpaid bills worth Rs 1 lakh crore. We have cleared those bills but for the 10 to 15 per cent pending bills.”