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Journalism of Courage
In July 2021, the president of the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association, D Kempanna, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging large-scale corruption in the award and implementation of civil contracts in Karnataka.
He alleged that contractors were being forced to pay a 40% commission to officials in the BJP government, cutting across departments, for projects. “Local registered contractors of our state have to pay to the extent of 25 to 30% of the tender amount before starting the works. After the completion of work there is harassment to pay 5-6% for release of the Letter of Credit against the pending bills,” said the July 6 letter to the PM from the association, seeking remedial action.
The association also said that while earlier too they paid bribes, this was about 10% of the contract value, unlike now.
Given that corruption is an accepted reality, it was the 40% commission figure that was the shocking claim – even if the association did not provide any evidence to substantiate the charge.
Around a week ago, the contractors’ association was at it again, saying nothing had changed in the year since they first wrote to the PM. Kempanna said they would write to Modi once more, as they appreciated what he said regarding corruption during his Independence Day speech.
However, there has been at least one development in the interregnum that provides a sting to the association’s charge now – the suicide by a civil contractor, Santhosh Patil, in Udupi in April this year, claiming that officials were pressuring him for 40% commission before paying him for a road project. A month before his suicide, Patil had sent a letter to Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh, naming his counterpart in the state, BJP minister K S Eshwarappa. Following Patil’s death, the Karnataka Rural Development Minister had to resign.
A police investigation exonerated Eshwarappa of charges of abetting the suicide, but Patil’s family has moved a special court in Bengaluru against the police closure report.
In its recent letter, the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association has not named any minister or official. However, it recently accused Horticulture Minister N Munirathna of seeking payment from contractors working on government projects in the Kolar region. Munirathna has threatened to sue the association if the charges are not substantiated.
The allegations of corruption come at a time when a Karnataka High Court order underlined how changes in the working of the Lokayukta had left it virtually emasculated in pursuing corruption investigations against high officials in the state. In its order, the High Court restored the powers of the Lokayukta to investigate cases of corruption, taking it away from the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which works under the chief minister of the state.
The BJP government headed by Basavaraj Bommai has promised to revive the Lokayukta’s powers now. While the assurance was part of the BJP’s 2018 election manifesto, it had done nothing about it till the High Court decided the matter.
The BJP has also tried to deflect the heat over the commission charges by accusing the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association of being associated with the Congress. BJP leaders have questioned meetings held by the association members with Congress leaders like D K Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah.
Last week, Siddaramaiah denied that the association was acting at the Congress’s behest. “Many people including CM Bommai are asking why Kempanna (the association president) met me. The association has met the Chief Minister too.”
While the Congress sees a chance to push a narrative against the BJP government of corruption, the party has not really raised the tempo on the charges, for example not bringing it up in the Assembly.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is testing the waters in Karnataka, has also got into the act, and submitted a memorandum to Governor Thawarchand Gehlot demanding a judicial probe into allegations of 40% commissions.
Karnataka Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol has asked the association to substantiate its charges, directing president Kempanna to specify the contracts where they were asked for commission and by whom. “Kempanna looks like a Congress agent,” Karjol added.
But the BJP is aware of how the situation could rapidly unfold, particularly as the party and Modi had run a successful campaign in the 2018 state polls, accusing then Siddaramaiah government of being “a 10% government”. That time too, there had been no specifics.
Meanwhile, other associations like a consortium of educational institutions, RUPSA, are now talking of kickbacks. RUPSA said this was now a norm for clearances to start and run schools. In a recent response, state Primary Education Minister B C Nagesh said: “I am not afraid of the threats by RUPSA. Let them provide proof to the department.”
