Karnataka BJP leader files ED complaint alleging Rs 46,300 Cr misappropriation by BBMP

Senior Karnataka BJP leader and President of the Anti-Corruption Forum, NR Ramesh, has filed a complaint with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleging a misappropriation of Rs 46,300 crore allocated over the past decade for road development in Bengaluru. Ramesh said that his complaint is against BBMP Commissioner Tushar Girinath, 18 senior IAS officers, and several other officials for allegedly misusing funds meant for arterial and ward road projects under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Ramesh's complaint, filed on Tuesday, November 26, accuses BBMP’s Roads Infrastructure Department and Project (Central) Department of systemic corruption, resulting in poor-quality roads across Bengaluru despite significant financial allocations. The funds in question are grants intended for critical urban infrastructure to improve Bengaluru's roads and drainage systems. Ramesh's complaint points to discrepancies in fund allocation and project execution which allowed for large-scale financial misconduct. 

"The huge fund was released to develop arterial and ward roads in the 198 wards of Bengaluru city. Road development works are being done by 'The Roads Infrastructure Department' and 'The Project (Central) Department'. Such huge funds are released every year and yet more than 25,000 potholes surface in Bengaluru city arterial roads…If the grant of Rs 46,300 crore funds has really been put to good use, then the 1,980 km falling under the jurisdiction of the BBMP and the pavements could have been fitted with gold plates," Ramesh said.

Ramesh also detailed how rampant the corruption is in BBMP starting from the tender approval process till funds get released to the contractors. He also highlighted how poor-quality raw materials are used during asphalting and construction of roads. He further spoke of how BBMP does not have a laboratory to test the quality of raw materials being used and has to depend on laboratories in Telangana and Maharashtra.

The complaint includes 4,113 pages of documents and evidence, which Ramesh claims substantiate his allegations. He also said that local contractors have increasingly boycotted BBMP tenders, citing rampant corruption.

"Unable to deal with the excessive corruption system, the local contractors have stopped participating in the BBMP's tender process. In the last couple of years, contractors from the neighbouring states and north India are participating. If there is a slight concern over the survival of the BBMP, it should be ascertained where the huge amount of Rs 46,300 crore has gone for the last 10 years and whom it reached," he added. 

Ramesh has urged the ED to investigate under charges of corruption, fraud, abuse of power, misuse of government funds, and falsification of documents under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita. He appealed for immediate action and said that if the BBMP is to survive, then it is necessary to trace the Rs 46,300 crore spent in the past decade and identify the beneficiaries of this corruption.