Water Resources Minister Govind M. Karjol on Friday said the Basavaraj Bommai-led government had cleared pending bills of contractors worth ₹12,752 crore and there was no proof to substantiate the charge made by the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association president Kempanna on commission in the execution of works.
At a press conference here, Mr. Karjol said Mr. Kempanna was a “sponsored person” of the Opposition Congress and he was provoked by the Congress to level baseless allegations against the government from the last one year.
Allegation by one person
Except Mr. Kempanna, no other contractor had made allegations of 40% commission against the government. Why have other contractors remained silent and not come out and made charges against the government, he demanded to know.
The government has cleared all pending bills of small, medium and big contractors, including pending bills worth ₹3,737 crore of the coalition government led by H.D. Kumaraswamy. Bills worth ₹2,158 crore of small tenders had been cleared, he said.
Claiming that all tender bids had been cleared transparently, Mr. Karjol said works of more than ₹1 lakh crore had been executed during 2020-21.
