K'tka Govt contractors voted BJP to escape 10% bribe, now they pay 40%
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Bengaluru: Enthusiastic was the trade community, particularly those are in the contract business, in Karnataka on the establishment of a BJP rule as did the country's people with the BJP government at the Centre.
Might be the over enthusiasm and the trust in the government that the demand put forth by Ministers to get things done-found to be innocuous for the government-has become intolerable even for party members.
The Karnataka State Contractors Association, a body of contractors who do government projects-most of them allied with the BJP, has made a public allegation that they have to pay hefty bribes to Ministers, MLAs and officials to get clearance for the government projects.
The allegation, The News Minute reports, is that people who are seated on the respected chairs demand as much as 40% of the project cost as bribe for the project clearance.
The allegation is not new. The Contractors' association has been raising the issue that the demand for hefty amount from elected members and officials since the BJP government came to power in 2019 for several months now.
The association claims that despite making several complaints to the Prime Minister, the Governor and the Chief Minister, it is found no one is interested in tweaking the system. The latest complaint is from a contract, who is also a BJP member, who accused senior minister Eshwarappa of asking for a bribe worth 40% of the total cost of a road project to give it clearance.
TNN reports referring to the Contractors' association that the demanding 40 per cent of the share of the project cost has now begun to making by other departments under the Karnataka government.
The Contractors Association's president said that the contractors en mass voted to the BJP government in the hope that the BJP government will bring a change in the 10 per cent commission which is used to be levied as bribe under the Congress rule in the state.
But the BJP government has raised the bribe rate percentage from 10 to 40, worsening the situation of the government contractors.
The Associate further alleged the hefty bribe in the name of the commission is being asked while the state government is yet to release payments worth Rs 22,000 crore to contractors for the finished and running projects.