Bommai to order probe into scam in Ganga Kalyana scheme

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday told the Assembly that he would order an inquiry over irregularities in the drilling of borewells under the Ganga Kalyana scheme since 2018-19.

Bommai said this after Congress lawmakers mounted pressure by protesting in the well of the House.

They were unhappy with Social Welfare Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary’s reply to a question by Varuna MLA Yathindra Siddaramaiah on borewells.

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“There are allegations that borewells were drilled at varying rates and ineligible contractors got the works on the basis of fake documents. I’ll have this investigated,” Bommai said.

Congress MLAs Priyank Kharge, Yathindra, Prasad Abbayya, Bheema Nayak and others staged a protest after Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri moved on to the next business. The Congress members wanted the discussion to conclude.

Kharge said an internal inquiry had already established irregularities to the tune of Rs 431 crore.

Bommai admitted that the system needed streamlining. “There are yearly borewell targets that aren’t met. The intended beneficiaries aren’t getting benefited. We need to fix the system. We’re still digging borewells sanctioned in 2018-19,” he said, adding that the government had introduced direct benefit transfer (DBT) for this.

Earlier, Poojary said there was one group of contractors that ensured they got the tenders.

“To stop that, we’ve brought in DBT. We will make available the list of companies that do borewell work and pay the beneficiary directly,” he said.

“Earlier, drilling of borewells was done by one person whereas, installation of pump and power supply was done by somebody else. Now, we’ve said the person drilling the bore should install the pump and ensure power supply,” he said.