Deputy CM Shivakumar announces BBMP fire probe, doesn’t ‘want to jump to conclusions’ on alleged BJP role

ನಾನು ಹಾಗೂ @Siddaramaiah ಅವರು ಇಂದು ವಿಕ್ಟೋರಿಯಾ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿ ಬಿಬಿಎಂಪಿಯ ಗುಣ ನಿಯಂತ್ರಣ ವಿಭಾಗದ ಪ್ರಯೋಗಾಲಯ ಮತ್ತು ಕಚೇರಿ ಕಟ್ಟಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಭವಿಸಿದ ಅಗ್ನಿ ಅವಘಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಗಾಯಗೊಂಡಿರುವ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿಯ ಯೋಗಕ್ಷೇಮ ವಿಚಾರಿಸಿದೆ. ಎಲ್ಲರನ್ನೂ ಟ್ರಾಮಾ ಸೆಂಟರ್ ಗೆ ಶಿಫ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಿ ಉತ್ತಮ ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆ ನೀಡಲು ತಿಳಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಘಟನೆ ಬಗ್ಗೆ… pic.twitter.com/cjRgUxgmzH

— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) August 11, 2023

The fire occurred amid a standoff between the government and contractors allegedly allied with the Opposition BJP over payments of bills raised for work done during the BJP tenure, from 2019 to 2023. The government has insisted on analysing the quality of work executed in the city during the period.

Soon after the fire, the state Congress’s social media handles alleged the BJP had caused the fire to destroy evidence.

“We have ordered a probe into what caused the fire and how. We have asked the (BBMP) commissioner to conduct a probe and the police will also register an FIR. The electrical inspector will also conduct a probe,” Siddaramaiah said.

“In the BBMP quality control building, a routine meeting was underway to decide on the next course of action on the first floor. The fire started on the ground floor in the lab where the quality testing takes place. After the fire started at around 5.10 pm, operators Suresh and Anand came out in fear. Those who were upstairs suffered due to the smoke from the fire and some suffered minor burns,” he said. “Those who suffered burns in the fire at the BBMP office have to be under observation for 48 hours. Nine persons have suffered burns. There has been nearly 38 per cent burns in some cases. The doctors say that they can be safe if the burns are less than 30 per cent but one person has suffered 38 percent burns.”

The officials who sustained burns are Sivakumar, chief engineer; Kiran, executive engineer; Santosh Kumar, executive engineer; Vijayamala, executive engineer; Sridhar, assistant executive engineer; Siraj, first-division assistant; Jyoti, operator; Srinivas, project management consultant; and Manoj, computer operator.

D K Shivakumar, who spearheads efforts to assess the quality of work done by contractors during the BJP tenure, said the fire had fortunately not damaged many files in the quality control room. “We are shifting the documents,” he said.

Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, refused to respond to the party’s social media messages that alleged the involvement of BJP-linked contractors in the fire. “I have just withdrawn the tweets. We don’t want to jump to conclusions. Let there be an inquiry,” he said Saturday. “The BJP leaders have a lot of scams and I will prove their scams. I know what was happening when the BJP was in power. They think we were sleeping. We also know what to do if they act smart,” he said, referring to the row over payments due to contractors for work done during the BJP tenure.

“We have not started assigning work then, how can there be an issue of kickbacks (against the Congress). They had the power to release funds (when in power), then why did they not do it?” he further said.

Shivakumar said that BJP contractors and BJP-sponsored contractors were behind efforts to organise contractors over the issue of pending payments.

And Siddaramaiah said the government would inquire into allegations that contracts awarded during the BJP tenure involved 40 per cent commissions. “We have to investigate the 40 per cent commission charges against the previous BJP government. The contractors are claiming that their dues should be paid without any investigations. These payments are for work that was done two to three years ago. There are allegations that 40 per cent commission has been taken while awarding these contracts and we want to investigate it. It has to be proven. We have not awarded any contracts, so this is about the old contracts given by the BJP government,” he said Saturday.

“I have asked them to conduct a speedy investigation and to provide a report. There will be no problems for those who have done their work honestly. Those who have indulged in corruption and have not done quality work will be in trouble,” he said.

Over Rs 700 crore has been released to the BBMP to pay contractors for work done over the past three years, but the release of payments has been delayed pending a quality audit initiated by the Congress government.

Last week JD(S) leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy alleged that the Congress leaders were demanding 10-15 per cent commissions for releasing the pending Rs 700 crore payments to the contractors for work done between 2019 and 2022.