BANGALORE, June 23: Exactly a year after the Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) Council constituted a house committee to look into the alleged misappropriation of funds in the purchase of uniforms, towels and chappals for the BCC pourakarmikas (civic workers), the panel is yet to submit its report.The Committee was set up in June last year and was given three-month's time to submit its report.Though, the Committee members had assured city Mayor J Huchappa in last month's BCC council meeting that the report would be submitted within two weeks, Committee sources told The Indian Express on Monday that the report had to be finalised as yet. Though the report is yet to be submitted, the committee has ordered for supply of uniforms, towels and chappals worth about Rs 1.1 crore to Binny Mills and Bata showrooms. Payments for material worth about Rs 60 lakh have already been made.The pourakarmikas (PKs) are given tokens which they have to produce at the showrooms and collect the material directly. Thecommittee members claim that the PKs and other employees are quite happy and satisfied with the system.When contacted, Opposition leader Gangabhyraiah said that the Committee had not received the files relating to the matter even till four months. ``The officials involved in the scam tried to hush up the probe. The related files were not made available to us even at the end of four months after the committee was set up. Then, the committee meetings could not be held because all of us were busy in the elections'', he said.Last month's meeting had witnessed acrimonious scenes over the delay in the submission of the report. Congress leader Chandrashekar had pointed out that the House committee, instead of probing into the misappropriation in purchase of uniforms for 1996-97 had gone beyond its limits and had purchased uniforms, towels and chappals worth about Rs 1.1 crore for 1997-98.The House committee is not empowered to purchase the material for the year 1997-98. It is not a statutory committee andeven the Karnataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) Act does not permit it to do so, members pointed out. Another point of argument was that as the whole purchase is more than Rs 10 lakh, tenders have to be called and the Standing Committee on Taxation, Finance and Appeals has to approve it. But, the committee members had defended themselves on the grounds that the purchases were made pending approval by the T and F committee. ``When so many resolutions are adopted and implemented pending approval by the Government, why can't this be done'', Committee members said.Even the Mayor had said that there was no need for calling tenders as the purchase had been made as per the understanding arrived at between the BCC and the Pourakarmikas union. Sources said that the committee had traced a nexus between the committee that approved the samples and several BCC officials.
