Municipal corporation seeks donations for flood relief, but civic contractors say a percentage of the kickbacks they pay officials should be diverted to victims
Municipal corporation seeks donations for flood relief, but civic contractors say a percentage of the kickbacks they pay officials should be diverted to victimsThe Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) wants contractors to contribute to its flood relief fund. The civic contractors, in exchange, are demanding a reduction in the bribes they pay.
Special commissioner Maheswara Rao, who summoned contractors for a meeting last week, asked them to spare one per cent of their contract income for flood relief in the northern districts.
Nearly 200 people have lost their lives, and 10 lakh are homeless, in the state.
The contractors said they would be happy to contribute if they got a discount in the bribes they had to cough up.
"By way of bribes, we pay at least 45 per cent of the estimated cost of a work," said Muniswamy, a contractor who attended the meeting. "Let them bring it down by one per cent, and that can be our contribution to the relief fund."
Long process
As an unwritten rule, a contractor pays five per cent to the executive engineer before a tender is opened. The local MLA or MP allegedly takes 10 per cent to approve the tender.
Once the contract is given, the contractor pays five per cent for issue of the work order. Billing then starts in stages, and so does the bribing. Finally, when the last cheque is signed, the contractor reportedly pays six per cent to the case worker.
"We are asking them to reduce that six per cent to five per cent," said Muniswamy.
But officials are in no mood to listen. "It is very strange. We are asking for their contribution and they are turning the tables against us. They have no social responsibility," said a senior BBMP official.
The meeting was called under instructions from BBMP Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena.
Maheswar Rao said he had urged voluntary donations.u00a0 "This one per cent is not a norm, they can give more," he told MiD DAY. He denied contractors had asked for a concession in bribes.
"No contractor expressed his unwillingness, but some of them have reservations," he said. Around 300 civil contractors are undertaking civil works in the city. The project estimates range from Rs 1 crore to Rs 20 crore, and the BBMP is expecting at least Rs 3 crore towards the relief fund. A source in the BBMP said about 60 contractors had attended the meeting and most were unwilling to contribute to the fund.
200 (approx)
People killed in the floods in the state
