Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to renovate his official residence on the lines of former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Sheeshmahal by using Rs 2.6 crore of public money. The Karnataka Finance Department issued a notification on February 10 informing that the state Public Works Department (PWD) will be undertaking several works at the CM residence, including the construction of a helper’s room, storage, supply of kitchen items like utensils and crockery and electrical improvements, etc.
A special exemption was granted to the PWD for renovation
As per a report in Times of India, improvements worth Rs 1.7 crore, including internal wiring, lighting points, water points, water heaters, etc. will be carried out at ‘Kaveri’, the official residence of the Chief Minister. Around Rs 89 lakh will reportedly be spent on electrification and air conditioning. An amount of Rs 16 lakh will be spent on the installation of CCTV cameras, air conditioners and other electrical appliances, and Rs 45 lakh will be spent on the renovation of the chamber of the Deputy CM’s Secretary.
Notably, the PWD has been allowed to carry out the renovation work directly without issuing tenders. An exemption under section 4(g) of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act has been granted to the PWD. Last month, on January 29, a similar exemption was reportedly provided to the PWD for electrical work and furniture installation at the official residence of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivkumar.
BJP criticises the expenditure of public money
This has attracted widespread criticism, with the BJP terming the expenditure as outrageous. BJP MLA from Chikpet Uday Garudachar described the expenditure as ‘atrocious’. “Isn’t it atrocious? Something that shouldn’t be done is being done by the Chief Minister himself. My appeal is that, let us first ensure all the other things are done. Once those needs are met, he can focus on renovating his house or whatever else he wants”, said Garudachar. “People are struggling for money. There’s hardly any left,” he added.
The renovation of the CM house using public money at a time when the state is facing a financial crunch has raised questions at the Congress government in Karnataka. Last year in July, Basavaraj Rayareddy, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s financial advisor, said that the state lacks funds for development projects due to guarantee schemes. The crisis arose as enormous amounts of funds had to be set aside for Congress’s freebies.
