The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Five Lokayukta inquiries ordered

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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Five Lokayukta inquiries ordered

Special Correspondent

Defamation suit to be filed against Kumaraswamy with regard to bribery charge

Probe to be conducted into allegation regarding Ejipura housing project
Three inquiries pertain to decisions taken by Kumaraswamy government

— Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

Major decision: (From right) Transport Minister R. Ashok, Energy Minister K.S. Eshwarappa, Excise Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu and Major and Medium Irrigation Minister Basavaraj Bommai at a press conference in Bangalore on Tuesday.

BANGALORE: The State Government on Tuesday ordered five inquiries, including one pertaining to a recent Cabinet decision, by the Lokayukta and decided to file a defamation suit against the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who had levelled a Rs. 50-crore bribery allegation against Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.

In the wake of the charges levelled against the Government over the approval granted for a joint-venture project to construct quarters for the economically weaker sections (EWS) at Ejipura in Bangalore, the Chief Minister held a meeting with senior Ministers and top officials here on Tuesday. And it was decided to order a probe by the Lokayukta within 24 hours of the allegation being made.

The Government has also decided to conduct Lokayukta inquiries into four development projects initiated by previous governments.

After participating in the meeting, Ministers K.S. Eshwarappa, R. Ashok, Katta Subramanya Naidu, Basavaraj Bommai and Arvind Limbavali defended the actions of the Government in the past four months.

The Opposition parties, who were in disarray, had started finding fault with the Government’s decisions. They argued that the joint venture with Maverick Holdings Ltd. for executing the housing project had been proposed several years ago, and the Karnataka High Court had, sometime ago, directed the State Government to take a decision on it.

The Yeddyurappa Government’s decision to adopt the the public-private partnership (PPP) model for major development projects had been criticised by the Opposition.

The Ministers said that the State Government would not be cowed by the allegations made against it and would continue with the PPP model.

“In five years, we will undertake at least 150 development projects under the model,” they said.

Mr. Kumaraswamy has alleged that Mr. Yeddyurappa had been paid a bribe of Rs. 50 crore for granting approval to the Ejipura project.

It was pointed out by the Ministers that during his chief ministership, Mr. Kumaraswamy himself had visited Ejipura and assured the people that their houses would be reconstructed in six months.

The Ejipura EWS housing quarters were constructed in 1985 during the tenure of the Ramakrishna Hegde Government. But the houses developed cracks within a year of being allotted to the beneficiaries. In 1991, a portion of the quarters collapsed killing six people.

The four other Lokayukta inquiries ordered pertain to the approval granted to the Garuda Mall joint-venture project with Maverick Holdings Ltd. in Bangalore by the S.M. Krishna Government; the Hassan ring road project, civil contracts for which were allegedly awarded before the acquisition of land, and the contractor sued the Government; the appointment of engineers and linemen to Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. and the Public Works Department; and the sanction accorded for a Special Economic Zone at Hoskote, with the Government providing 12,000 acres of land, including 4,000 acres of government land.

The decisions pertaining to the three projects were taken by the Kumaraswamy Government, of which the Bharatiya Janata Party was a partner. Incidentally, the SEZ at Hoskote was granted Cabinet sanction on October 5, after the BJP withdrew support to the Government.

“If the Opposition continues to taunt the Government, more such fraudulent decisions will be brought to the fore,” the Ministers added.

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