Karnataka - Gulbarga   

`Hand over probe into lapses in UKP to CBI'

Special Correspondent

The Government should not hesitate as Deve Gowda himself is ready to face an inquiry: Vaijnath Patil

GULBARGA: A former Chairman of the Estimates Committee of the State Legislature, Vaijnath Patil, who had given a report about the alleged irregularities in the awarding of contract on piece-meal basis in the Upper Krishna Project (UKP) when H.D. Deve Gowda was the Chief Minister from 1994 to 1996, on Thursday demanded that the Government hand over the investigation of the alleged irregularities pointed out by the Estimates Committee to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to unearth the truth and punish the guilty.

Mr. Patil, who was a Janata Dal legislator when he was made the Chairman of the Estimates Committee in 1997-98 during the late J.H. Patel's Chief Ministership, told presspersons here that when Mr. Deve Gowda himself was ready to face an inquiry by the CBI, the Government should not hesitate to hand over the investigation to the CBI to put at rest all the controversy surrounding the award of contract on piece-meal basis.

Mr. Patil, who was elected on Janata Dal (S) ticket from Chincholi Assembly constituency in the last election after mending fences with Mr. Deve Gowda, later fell out with Mr. Deve Gowda and was expelled from the party. Recently, the faction led by the former Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, had revoked the expulsion order and made Mr. Patil an active member of the party.

He said that although the Estimates Committee report was rejected by the then Chief Minister (J.H. Patel), the issue has been kept alive through a public interest litigation petition filed by an individual in the Karnataka High Court seeking a CBI probe into the findings of the Estimates Committee. The case is still pending in the High Court.

When the findings of the Estimates Committee had been forgotten, he said the former Chief Minister and Maharashtra Governor, S.M. Krishna, and the former Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party leader, S. Bangarappa, had raked up the issue. Mr. Krishna had also stated that the report of the Estimates Committee was discussed in the Cabinet but no action was initiated.

He said the Estimates Committee, which went into the working of the Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam and the implementation of the Upper Krishna Project, had in its report pointed out several irregularities in the handing over of the UKP works on piece-meal basis violating norms and allowing cost to escalate.

Cost escalation

Although the Government decided to award works worth Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 50,000 on piece-meal basis, it had enhanced it gradually to Rs. 2.5 crores.

Even this was enhanced to Rs. 5 crores later in violation of the norms fixed by the technical committee and the permission given by the Cabinet for taking up the works of the UKP on piece-meal basis because awarding works after tenders had been invited had caused unnecessary delay.

He said when the Estimates Committee report was tabled, the Congress, which was in the Opposition, had made a demand for handing over the findings of the committee to the CBI. However, the Congress, which came to power later, failed to act on the recommendations.

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