Karnataka govt forms panel to vet tenders above Rs 50 crore
Bengaluru, May 8: The Karnataka government on Sunday said it has constituted a 'Tender Scrutiny Committee' headed by a retired High Court judge, aimed at bringing transparency and curb irregularities in the tendering process.
The committee headed by Justice Rathnakala has been mandated to scrutinise all tenders above Rs 50 crore according to the guidelines already issued to curb irregularities in the tendering process.
The move for transparency has come at a time when the BJP government in the state is facing allegations of corruption, including the '40 per cent commission' charge from contractors to get the payment released for the projects completed.
Recently, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had ordered a complete stop to awarding government projects based on the oral instructions from ministers and elected representatives, and had warned erring officers of strong action.
This follows the death of Santosh Patil, a contractor from Belagavi, who allegedly died by suicide, blaming former Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister K S Eshwarappa for holding up payment of Rs 4 crore,0 due to him.
Retired Secretary of Water Resources Department B G Gurupadaswamy (expert engineer) and Retired Director of State Accounts and Audit Department K Nandakumar (finance expert) have been appointed as the members of the committee, the CM's office said in a statement.
The panel has been constituted in accordance with the government order issued last December.
The state government has also constituted a Commission headed by Justice Bhaktavatsala to conduct a study on suitable political representation for Backward Classes.
Retired IAS officer C R Chikmath has been appointed as the member of the Commission.
The Commission has been constituted following a Supreme Court direction in a case related to ensuring suitable representation for backward classes in Panchayat Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies.
The issue was discussed at the all party meetings held on March 23 and 31 and it was decided to hold the elections to these democratic institutions only after making provision for reservation for these communities, the CMO said.
The Commission would make suitable recommendations after studying the political backwardness of backward classes in these democratic institutions, it said.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
