BBMP misappropriated funds at Mahalakshmi Layout: KRSP

NT Correspondent

Karnataka Rashtra Samithi Party (KRSP) on Friday alleged misappropriation of funds in the name of Development of Boulevard Park in Mahalakshmi Layout Assembly Constituency (Package-5).

KRSP Bengaluru unit president Manjunath S told media persons that many works in Mahalakshmi Layout were taken up unnecessarily. “Many good roads were dug up and asphalted again to make money. Mahalakshmi Layout is one of the Assembly constituencies that got maximum fund allocation but no improvement in civic amenities,” Manjunath said.

He said that most of the roads in Mahalakshmi Layout are narrow and congested and the BBMP authorities had allocated 50 per cent of the funds for the development of boulevard parks in the area. “The authorities have fixed SR (schedule of rate) for only 73 items among 457 items. They have fixed the cost of items, including saplings, more than the market price,” he said.

According to Raghupathy Bhat of KRSP, the contractor had quoted more price for saplings than the market price.

“The cost of each sapling will be Rs 15 when bought in bulk. However, the contractor had quoted Rs 86 per sapling as against the fixed price of Rs 75 in the tender,” he said.

He said ficus saplings (between 3 ft and 5 ft) are available in the market between Rs 128 and Rs 425, but the contractor had quoted the price of each ficus sapling at Rs 2,875 as against the price (Rs 2,500) fixed in the tender.

It has caused a loss of Rs 1.68 crore to the BBMP,” he said, adding that a LED Display Board price was quoted at Rs 1,33,004 as against the market price of Rs 48,000.