The Hindu : Road-rollers going cheap in Dharwad

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 13, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Dharwad

Road-rollers going cheap in Dharwad

By Our Special Correspondent

DHARWAD, FEB. 12. Contractors thinking of buying a road-roller should visit the office of the Dharwad Zilla Panchayat where the equipment is on sale for a throwaway price of Rs. 26,000. The price of a new road-roller is Rs. 8 lakh.

It is alleged that two road-rollers in working condition were declared as scrap in Dharwad and Kalghatgi and disposed of at Rs. 40,000 each. The road-rollers, each weighing about nine-and-a-half tonnes, were sold on the basis of the weight at the rate of Rs. 4 a kg. Sources say that the rate of scrap of this nature is Rs. 14 a kg.

The sale of "undervalued" road-rollers caused a furore at a recent meeting of the Dharwad Zilla Panchayat, and members from all parties criticised the alleged mismanagement in the panchayat, which is under the control of the Congress.

C.F. Patil of the Bharatiya Janata Party alleges that government rules on the sale of used machinery are being flouted, and the panchayat President is not informed. A Government Order issued by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms in 2001 laid down a procedure for disposing of equipment. A committee under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, which has the panchayat Chief Executive Officer and Road Transport Officer as members, has the power to assess whether an agency can continue to use equipment or it should be disposed of through tender and auction.

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