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

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
January 24,2020

Mangaluru, Jan 24: The third annual nocturnal Mangaluru Kambala, also known as the Rama Lakshmana Kambala, will be held on the night of January 25 at Goldfinch City in Bangra Kuluru, Mangaluru Kambala Samithi president Brijesh Chowta announced on Friday.

The all-night Kambala will have six categories - Naegilu Kiriya, Hagga Kiriya, Naegilu Hiriya, Hagga Hiriya, Kane Halage and Adda Halage.

The event will be inaugurated at 0930 hrs on January 25 and another programme will be held at 1800 hrs.

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News Network
May 9,2020

Bengaluru, May 9: The bar owners in Karnataka, while welcoming the state government's decision to allow takeaway sales of liquor, said that the move is not going to benefit them much.

Venkatesh Babu, a Bengaluru-based bar owner said, "We welcome this move, our bar was closed for two months due to coronavirus crisis. We have been facing losses since then."

"The state government has told us to sell our stocks at maximum retail price (MRP). It is difficult for us to manage as the rent is high and we also have to pay salaries," he added.

The owner of Pingara Bar and Restaurant, Shivamogga said, "The government has said that is for parcel only and that too at MRP. There is no benefit to our business. We are only clearing the existing stock. They have given us time till May 17 and are not even giving us fresh stock. We are only allowed to sell what we have already."

Karnataka government in its Friday order allowed restaurants, pubs and bars to sell liquor at retail prices from May 9 till May 17, the day the third phase of lockdown is slated to end.

Earlier, the government had allowed the opening of liquor shops in order to mobilise revenue.

However, bars, pubs, restaurants were ordered to remain closed amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

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News Network
July 22,2020

New Delhi, Jul 22: Sir Philip Barton visited Bengaluru on Tuesday in the first of the series of virtual regional visits as the UK's new High Commissioner and called Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, business leaders, and startup community to pitch for new momentum in the already strong UK-Karnataka relationship.

During his virtual call, High Commissioner Barton got a 'real' taste of Bengaluru through a traditional Masala Dosa delivered to his residence in Delhi along with authentic south Indian filter coffee, which he relished over a chat with historian and commentator Ramachandra Guha. They discussed the unique UK-India "living bridge" across culture and cuisine, history and heritage, and sports and science.

Both Yeddyurappa and the British envoy restated their commitment to working together on the immediate challenges of Covid-19 and beyond.

Barton subsequently 'traveled' to Electronics City, where he met with a range of key business leaders to discuss deepening the UK-India tech partnership and opportunities for global investors in the UK.

Barton also met with a group of entrepreneurs, business founders and innovators, who were part of the first GoGlobal UK cohort to explore the dynamic UK market considered one of the best ecosystems for startups in the world. 

They had earlier attended a week-long boot-camp in London and Manchester in December 2019 that helped them bolster their business skills, build links with UK's thriving digital sector, and paved the way for future partnerships.

"I am delighted to make my first regional virtual visit to Bengaluru, the technology hub of India. My visit comes at a difficult time for everyone. So it is also a time when the excellent collaboration between the UK and Karnataka across technology and healthcare could not be important," Barton said.

"Making the most of those close links, and drawing on the great energy, innovation and entrepreneurship that Karnataka is famous for, will be central to ensuring we all recover from Covid-19 stronger than ever," he added.

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