Open secret: 10 percent cash back scheme in BMP

Open secret: 10 percent cash back scheme in BMP
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) is certainly a microcosm of parliament as far as corrupt practices are concerned. The collective enterprise of making a fast buck extends even to its annual mayoral grants.

The mayor holds the key to Rs 15 crore. As there is no quota fixed for wards, the field is open for corruption from the word go.

Sources in the BMP council say mayors make generous allocations to councillors willing to pay 10 per cent as a commission. This has become an annual ritual and councillors have bribed the mayor with ready cash in hand. Pay 10 percent in hard cash and get your grants cheque instantaneously.

But there is the farce of ward visits. The mayor takes up visits to assess demands, based on, which the grant amount is decided. Every councillor takes the mayor to underdeveloped areas of the ward to justify his claim for grants. As the mayoral term draws to a close, councillors make several rounds to the mayor’s office.

But invariably developed wards have a way of getting more funds than backward areas.

A senior councillor said that some city MLAs get more funding to their constituency by offering bigger kickbacks.

Councillors use the farcical mayor visits to scare highrise builders and hoarding contractors. They make a killing saying the mayor wants to act on such violations, and part of the booty reaches higher offices.

In fact, every mayor brags about his intentions to take action against building and hoarding bylaw violations. But soon they develop selective blindness.