Lakshman Singh appointed as K-RIDE MD
Bengaluru (PTI): The Centre on Thursday approved the deputation of Lakshman Singh, Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE), to the post of Managing Director of Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Ltd (K-RIDE).
K-RIDE is presently undertaking the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP) – the work that is going on at a snail’s pace in the absence of a technocrat to head the organisation, sources said.
"The appointment comes after several years of demand for a technocrat for the post since the job involves high technical expertise," a source said.
Currently serving as Chief General Manager (Civil) at Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), Singh will assume the new role on deputation terms, retaining his parent pay plus deputation allowance.
The appointment is for a period of three years starting from the date Singh takes charge or until further orders, whichever comes first, the order said.
His total deputation tenure will be calculated from his initial deputation date with BMRCL, it said.
The Railway Ministry has requested BMRCL to relieve Singh for this assignment and to inform the date of his relief.
According to sources, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya pursued the matter with the Railway Board that an expert in the domain is appointed as the MD.
While laying the foundation stone for the BSRP on June 20, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the project would be completed in 40 months. The project should have been completed by the end of December, but it has not made any headway till now.
Karnataka Infrastructure Development Minister M B Patil had also set a deadline of December 2027.
"Given the pace of work, it is highly unlikely that it will ever be possible. Now that we have a technocrat as MD, we feel that the work would gain momentum," a government officer said.
The project has seen many hiccups. An IAS officer Vasanthi Amar B V, who served as Special Deputy Commissioner at K-RIDE, was raided by the Karnataka Lokayukta on July 23. She was responsible for the land acquisition for BSRP.
Due to inordinate delay in the land acquisition, the project had come to a grinding halt.
The project hit another roadblock when the Indian multinational conglomerate Larsen and Toubro (L&T) terminated two contracts for Corridor-2 and Corridor-4 of the BSRP on July 31.
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LoP Ashoka targets CM govt over corruption, says being 'shameless' in public life not forgivable
Bengaluru (PTI): Targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government in Karnataka on corruption, BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday said, being foolish was forgivable, but being "shameless" in public life was not.
The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly claimed that in just 30 months of its tenure, the Congress administration has broken every previous record on corruption-related controversies.
He was responding to Siddaramaiah's post on 'X' on Thursday hitting back at the BJP, stating that Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa's claims of "63 per cent corruption" were based on his report in November 2019, when BJP's B S Yediyurappa was the CM.
"But Ashoka, without understanding the Upa Lokayukta's statement properly, has ended up tying the BJP's own bells of sins onto our heads and has effectively shot himself in the foot," the CM had said, as he accused Ashoka of foolishness for trying to twist Veerappa's statement to target the current government.
Responding, Ashoka said, "it is one thing to be called foolish in politics, that can be forgiven."
"But in public life, especially in the Chief Minister's chair, one must never become shameless," Ashoka posted on 'X' on Friday addressing Siddaramaiah.
Noting that the CM himself had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that a Rs 87 crore scam took place in the Valmiki Development Corporation, he said that when a CM acknowledges such a massive irregularity inside the floor of the House, the natural expectation is immediate action and accountability.
"But instead of taking responsibility, you continue in office as if nothing has happened. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
Pointing out that the CM's Economic Advisor and senior Congress MLA Basavaraja Rayareddy had publicly stated that under Congress rule, Karnataka has become No.1 in corruption, Ashoka said, "Yet, you still cling to the Chief Minister's chair without a moment of introspection. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness."
Senior Congress MLA C R Patil had exposed the "money for House" racket in the Housing Department and even warned that the government would collapse if the details he has were made public, Ashoka said.
"Despite such serious allegations from within your own party (Congress), you neither initiated an inquiry nor acted against the concerned minister. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," Ashoka asked the CM.
Highlighting the "40 percent commission" allegation Congress made against the previous BJP government, the opposition leader said, the commission that the Siddaramaiah government appointed concluded that the accusation was baseless.
"After your own panel demolished your own claim, what moral right do you have to continue repeating that allegation. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
For the last two and a half years, Karnataka has been 'drowning' in corruption, scandals, irregularities and allegations across departments. Ashoka said, "If I begin listing every case that emerged under your government, even 24 hours would not be enough."
"And the most tragic aspect of your administration is this: the unbearable pressure, corruption demands and administrative harassment under your government pushed several officers and contractors into extreme distress - including the suicide of Chandrasekharan which exposed the Valmiki Development Corporation scam - a sign of how deeply broken the system has become under your watch," he said.
Instead of fixing this hopeless environment, the government has tried to bury every complaint and silence every voice, he charged.
"Being foolish is forgivable, but being shameless in public life is definitely not."
"When your own ministers admit scams, when your own advisors certify Karnataka as No.1 in corruption, and when your own MLAs expose rackets inside your departments - clinging to power without accountability is not leadership. It is shamelessness in its purest form." PTI KSU
Earlier on Thursday Ashoka had demanded that the corruption case and allegations in the state against the Congress government be handed over to a CBI investigation, citing a reported statement by Upalokaykta Justice Veerappa alleging "63 per cent corruption", following which Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP leader.
