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BJP?sees Rs 190-cr scam in rural development dept

[email protected] (DHNS)
May 7, 2016

Bengaluru, May 7: The BJP on Friday said a lot of procedural and financial irregularities had taken place in the establishment of water testing laboratories and purchases made by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) department.shattal

Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar told reporters that the department spent Rs 190 crore to establish water quality testing labs in 146 taluks since 2014. RDPR?Minister H?K Patil encouraged nepotism and is directly involved in the scam. The government must cancel the tender for the works and order an inquiry, he demanded.
The senior BJP leader released some documents to support his claims. However, he did not come out with any documentary evidence to show Patil's direct involvement.

Shettar said a certain Prasad Rayapati had got the tenders through his companies in three phases to establish the labs. In the first phase, the work orders were issued for establishing labs in 80 taluks. In the second phase, the work orders were given to Prasad in deviation of the tender process. In the final phase, tenders of other bidders were rejected on technical grounds to help Prasad as he remained the sole bidder.

Rules were changed'
Shettar said that to participate in the tender process, contractors/participants should be either manufacturers or dealers of the products required for a project. Though Prasad was ineligible to participate in the tenders, the department changed the rules to help him. The department stated the work could be taken up in association with another company.

The rules specify that the contractors, of their five years' existence in business, should have transacted business worth Rs 57 crore in two years. To fulfill this norm, Prasad has tied up with Srinivasa Constructions India and gained backdoor entry, Shettar said.

Prasad had not submitted insolvency certificate worth Rs 15 crore, which is compulsory. Prasad and the companies which he has created - Ray Environ - and Global Technologies, Sawant Instrument Private Limited, Hyderabad and Gen Next Lab Technologies, New Delhi have illegally submitted the certificates to get the work orders, he charged.

Shettar said there have been financial irregularities in water testing too. For instance, officials have written to the department that the firm floated by Prasad has taken money without carrying out lab tests on borewell waters. Lab reports have been submitted even for those borewells which have been defunct, he pointed out.

Comments

wellwisher
 - 
Saturday, 7 May 2016

We accept present Govt correption far better than previous BJP Govt. All Kannadigas want a peaceful anti communal Govt. At present Congress N AAP are the right party.
Jai Hind Jai Karnataka

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News Network
April 18,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 18: The Indian Council of Medical Research has approved 16 laboratories, comprising 11 government and five private laboratories in Karnataka, for testing the samples of COVID-19 suspected cases, the state government said on Saturday.

Meetings and negotiations were held with some private laboratories for conducting COVID-19 sample testing, additional chief secretary (health and family welfare) Jawaid Akhtar said in a circular.

"Based on the negotiations, the cost per test has been fixed at Rs 2,250," the circular read.

These private labs have to abide by the conditions laid down by the state and union governments, it added.

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News Network
March 19,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 19: The Karnataka government has extended the statewide coronavirus shutdown till March 31 as the number of positive cases rose to 14, of whom 11 are those who came in from foreign countries.

In an emergency Cabinet meeting, the state government set up a task force of four ministers to lead the defence against the virus. This core team will have Rs 200 crore to orchestrate the combat.

When chief minister B S Yediyurappa announced the shutdown last week, it was to be in force until March 21, but it was always unlikely that the Covid-19 scare would have waned by then.

Several more restrictions were announced today. Quarantine will be mandatory for all passengers arriving from foreign countries. While schools, colleges and business establishments will continue to be closed, restrictions have been extended to marriages, fairs and social functions as well.

Public entry to Vidhana Soudha, Vikas Soudha and the M.S. Building has been barred till March 31.

While setting up the task force, the government has earmarked Rs 200 crore for the coronavirus campaign. The chief minister said there is no dearth of funds for fighting the virus.

The task force will have deputy chief minister Ashwathnarayana, home minister Basavaraj Bommai, medical education minister Sudhakar, health and family welfare minister B Sreeramulu and chief secretary T M Vijaybhaskar.  Sreeramulu will head the task force.

The task force will monitor coronavirus cases on a daily basis and orchestrate the response of all stakeholders. It will issue a daily bulletin on the epidemic and also run awareness campaigns.

With quarantine now mandatory for passengers coming in foreign countries, community centres, hotels, convention centres, resorts and even PGs will be rented to accommodate the new arrivals.

The compulsory quarantine will be for 15 days.

A quarantine stamp will be imprinted on the right hand of passengers coming in from foreign countries.

Since the Centre has relaxed the rules for using SDRF funds, the state government will draw from it to contain the pandemic; therefore, there will be more funds available to all districts, chief minister B S Yediyurappa said in the Assembly.

In further measures, all passengers and suspected Covid-19 cases will be tracked by their mobile phones.

Primary stage

“We are in the first and second stages of the epidemic. The virus is still at a primary stage and has not spread to community level," medical education minister Sudhakar said in the Assembly.

"It is important that we do not let the epidemic enter the third stage. It is possible if we implement stringent measures. People have responded positively to the state government’s measures and are cooperating with our decisions," Sudhakar said.

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News Network
August 6,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 6: No private hospital in Karnataka can turn away a patient without attending to him or her, irrespective of the Coronavirus status, an official has said.

"Private medical establishments shall not deny treatment and admission to any patient approaching the establishment irrespective of the fact that such patient may or may not be suffering from Covid-19," an official from the state Health and Family Welfare Department said on Wednesday.

Likewise, no private hospital can insist on a patient for a Covid-19 test report, said the official invoking the Disaster Management Act.

"The establishments also cannot insist for Covid test report," he said, directing all private hospitals to strictly abide by their responsibilities.

According to the department, it is the duty of every private hospital to provide first aid and take lifesaving steps when any patient approaches it.

"It is the duty of every private medical establishment to provide first aid and take lifesaving measures to stabilise the patient," he said.

The department also invoked statutes from Karnataka Medical Establishments Act 2017, under sections 11 and 11 (A) to drive home the message.

The directives assume significance at a time when several cases of private hospitals denying admissions and fleecing patients across the state have emerged.

"It has been noticed that some of the private hospitals are refusing treatment and admission to emergency patients, causing distress and this has resulted in complications, leading to death in certain cases," said the official.

The district authorities have been directed to take action on the erring hospitals as the department reiterated the responsibilities of private medical establishments.

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