Contractors must approach Lokayukta, not ministers, says Shivakumar on bribery allegations

Bengaluru: In the wake of fresh allegations by civil contractors of corruption and interference by middlemen in govt departments, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar Friday said the govt is yet to clear only 10-15% of pending bills and urged contractors to approach the Lokayukta if they were asked to pay commissions.
His response came after KSCA president R Manjunath claimed "brokers" were active in Shivakumar's office and accused relatives of ministers of interfering in bill clearances. While Shivakumar denied the charges, ministers Satish Jarkiholi and NS Boseraju also denied the claims.
"Some contractors are approaching legislators of their constituencies and requesting them to pay whatever bills that are pending," Shivakumar said. "More than Rs 1 lakh crore of bills in my department (water resources) was left unpaid by the previous BJP govt. We are yet to pay only 10% to 15% of these bills... So, some contractors are requesting their MLAs, party functionaries and others to intervene."
Shivakumar defended his cabinet colleagues while rejecting Karnataka State Contractors Association's (KSCA) claims of ministerial involvement in corruption. "If anyone has asked contractors for commission to get bills cleared, then contractors should file a complaint with the Lokayukta. Our ministers Jarkiholi and Boseraju are not involved in this," Shivakumar said.
Questioning the rationale behind approaching ministers for payments, he said, "Are they (contractors) not aware of the department's budget? How did they pursue contracts when there were no fund allocations?"
Shivakumar also alleged that the previous BJP govt, ahead of the 2023 polls, had forced contractors to take up work without formal sanction. "We (Congress) warned contractors not to take up any work without funds. But they refused to listen to us and are now issuing letters of request for payment of bills through political functionaries," he said.
Meanwhile, BJP latched on to the fresh allegations of corruption against the Congress govt calling them "200% correct".