Mangaluru, Feb 14: Muneer Katipalla, who is all set to contest upcoming assembly polls from Mangaluru City North constituency as a CPI-M candidate, has made a serious allegation of large-scale irregularities in awarding contract for Sewage Pumping Main Repair and Replacement Project of Mangaluru City Corporation.
In a letter to the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary, Mr Katipalla, who is also Karnataka state unit president of DYFI, claimed that two companies have secured tender for the project with tacit understanding wherein the estimated cost has shot up from Rs. 60 crore to Rs. 94 crore. The government should scrap the tender and order high-level probe into pilferage of public money, he said.
He noted that the MCC through Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation has undertaken the project of upgrading the UGD infrastructure of Mangaluru. Repair and replacement of the sewage pumping main is one of the key components of the project. On the face of it, large-scale financial irregularities are visible while finalising tenders for sewage pumping repair and replacement.
Mr. Katipalla said KUIDFC had estimated Rs. 60 crore for the project initially. However, it added Rs. 8 crore for manhole repairs, Rs. 5 crore road repair etc., though all these were part of original Rs. 60 crore estimate.
The total project cost escalated to Rs. 94 crore during the tender process, which is in excess of 60% of the original estimate. Two companies which participated in the tender obtained the contract jointly even as the empowered committee approved all the changes without any objection.
Suspecting corruption, Mr. Katipalla said such irregularities cannot happen without the involvement of KUIDFC officials and knowledge of people's representatives. Mangaluru South MLA J.R. Lobo, who was earlier MCC Commissioner and is in the know of the process as well as Mangaluru North MLA B.A. Mohiuddin Bava, with their silence appear to be backing the irregularities, Mr. Katipalla alleged.
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