The BJP has alleged there’s a scam involving Social Welfare Minister H. Anjaneya, who they say resorted to “bogus billing” for several thousand borewells under the Ganga Kalyana scheme, while the borewells remained only on paper.
The Minister, meanwhile, has dismissed the allegations as “politically motivated” ahead of elections.
Shobha Karandlaje, general secretary, BJP, said at a press meet that on a single day (January 22, 2018) the ministry had granted 36,000 borewells across the State at a cost of ₹36 crore and set a deadline of six days for all borewells to be completed, which clearly shows this was “bogus billing”.
18,000 in one constituency
She further said in Holalkere, the constituency the Minister represents, the department had granted 1,800 borewells in one day. “It is humanly impossible to drill 1,800 borewells in six days and it is not allowed, as each taluk has a limit of 200. Moreover, under Ganga Kalyana scheme, Schedule Caste farmers are the beneficiaries. None of the 1,800 borewells have a beneficiary list, clearly indicating these remained only on paper,” she said. “We found no work completion reports filed to the government as well,” she said.
Ms. Karandlaje, hitting back at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who had termed the Union government a 90% commission government on Thursday, said the Ganga Kalyan scam showed that Mr. Siddaramaiah’s government was a “100% commission government”. She demanded the immediate resignation of Mr. Anjaneya and a CBI probe into the issue.
