Rs300crore kickbacks for Jagadish Shettar in layout tenders, says Siddaramaiah

Chief minister Jagadish Shettar faced serious allegations at the fag end of his tenure on Monday.
Leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah, alleged Shettar received Rs300 crore as kickbacks by escalating the project cost of Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda layout, causing heavy losses to Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).

Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah alleged that the bid amount for the project was illegally raised from Rs1,069 crore to Rs2,800 crore. The chief engineer who opposed the government’s decision, was transferred overnight, he said.

Siddaramaiah explained that finance department rules say that if the estimated bidding amount is quoted beyond 10%, the proposal should be rejected. However, he said the ruling BJP was shamelessly defending the move by stating that the cost has been reduced from Rs2,800 crore to Rs2,200 crore.

The whole process was stopped after filing of public interest litigation. CM Shettar is a direct beneficiary from the deal. BDA will suffer losses to the tune of Rs700 crore to Rs800 crore and the common man will end up paying Rs1,200per sq.ft instead of `800 per square feet for the sites in Kempe Gowda layout, Siddaramaiah said.

He added there were five packages for road construction in Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda Layout for the amount of `1,069 crore. Yet Andhra Pradesh based companies Nagarjuna, Madhukantha and B Seenaiah companies got the bids sealed for Rs2,800 crore, more than double of the initially projected amount, he said.

Similarly, excise department has also been receiving huge kickbacks in the renewal of licenses of bars, Siddaramaiah stated, urging officers of excise department to stop collecting money immediately.

@DNA