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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HC quashes criminal proceedings against Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi in drugs abuse case
Bengaluru, Jan 14: The Karnataka High Court has quashed the criminal proceedings against Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi in a drug case, saying the prosecution could not substantiate the charges with material evidence.
The bench of Justice Hemant Chandanagoudar also quashed the proceedings against the co-accused Prashant Ranka.
It said, "However, to substantiate the charges against the petitioners, the prosecution has not produced any material evidence to prove that the petitioners organized parties or sold drugs, apart from the voluntary statements of the co-accused and chargesheet witnesses."
"Therefore, the continuation of the criminal proceedings against the petitioners will be an abuse of the legal process of law,” Justice Chandanagoudar observed.
Ragini was among the many celebrities from the Kannada film industry arrested in September 2020.
A case was registered against her at the Cottonpet police station based on a statement by a co-accused B K Ravishankar on September 4, 2020.
