K'taka Contractors' association welcomes clearing of Rs 600 cr worth pending bills
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Contractors' Association on Tuesday welcomed the clearing of Rs 600 crore worth of pending bills of 1,054 small contractors in the Public Works Department.
The association president D Kempanna, however, reiterated his stand that the ''package system'' -- dividing contracts into different sections and allotting them to various contractors -- was leading to corruption.
''All the pending bills of 1,054 contractors have been cleared,'' Kempanna told a press conference.
He said the association has appealed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar to clear the pending bills in various government departments including the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city civic body.
''Our struggle is continuing against the package system. We are exploring the legal options regarding the pending bills in the police housing corporation,'' Kempanna said.
ALSO READ: Karnataka: 55-year-old woman's efforts to build well for Anganwadi children bear fruit
The octogenarian said: ''We demand that the package system should be abolished. This is leading to corruption.'' Kempanna alleged last week that the practice of 40 per cent kickbacks on government contracts continues even under the Congress regime.
Accusing officials in the state government of rampant corruption, he said, earlier (during the previous BJP regime) public representatives were demanding bribes, now it's their turn.
''Corruption is on in Karnataka by the officials. Till now, no MLA, MP or Minister has asked us for money. Earlier MLAs used to ask for a specified amount to give us a contract for work, that is not the situation now. Now the officials come and ask -- give money, if you want work,'' Kempanna said.
The association under the leadership of Kempanna earlier alleged ''harassment'' by ministers, elected representatives and others during the previous BJP regime, accusing them of demanding 40 per cent commission for awarding contracts and clearing bills, and had even written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.
During the 2023 assembly polls, the Congress made the association's charge a major campaign issue to dub the BJP as being ''corrupt''.
The ''package system'' is being followed to take up projects in all departments, Kempanna said.
''This is being done with the intention to keep away local contractors and favour contractors from neighboring states. Due to the package system, local, small-medium contractors of the state are facing problems as they are not getting the work,'' he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Son of Libya's late dictator Gadhafi killed in north Africa country: Officials
Cairo (AP): Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son and one-time heir apparent of Libya's late dictator Moammar Gadhafi, was killed in the northern African country, Libyan officials said on Tuesday.
The 53-year-old was killed in Zintan town, 136 kilometres southwest of the capital, Tripoli, according to two Libyan security officials in western Libya. The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.
Khaled al-Zaidi, a lawyer for Seif al-Islam, confirmed his death on Facebook, without providing details.
Abdullah Othman Abdurrahim, who represented Gadhafi in the UN-brokered political dialogue that aimed to resolve Libya's long-running conflict, also announced his death on Facebook.
Abdurrahim did not provide further details, but Libyan news outlet Fawasel Media cited him as saying that armed men killed Seif al-Islam in his home. The outlet reported that prosecutors were investigating the killing.
Born in June 1972 in Tripoli, Seif al-Islam was the second-born son of the longtime dictator. He studied for a PhD at the London School of Economics and was seen as the reformist face of the Gadhafi regime.
Moammar Gadhafi was toppled in a NATO-backed popular uprising in 2011 after more than 40 years in power. He was killed in October 2011 amid the ensuing fighting that would turn into a civil war. The country has since plunged into chaos and divided between rival armed groups and militias.
Seif al-Islam was captured by fighters Zintan late in 2011 while attempting to flee to neighbouring Niger. The fighters released him in June 2017 after one of Libya's rival governments granted him amnesty. He had since lived in Zintan.
A Libyan court convicted him of inciting violence and murdering protesters and sentenced him to death in absentia in 2015. He was also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity related to the 2011 uprising.
In November 2021, Seif al-Islam announced his candidacy in the country's presidential election in a controversial move that was met with outcry from anti-Gadhafi political forces in western and eastern Libya.
The country's High National Elections Committee disqualified him, but the election was not held over disputes between rival administrations and armed groups that have ruled Libya since the bloody ouster of Moammar Gadhafi.
