'BJP Alleges Rs 39,000 Crore 'Garbage Scam' in Karnataka, Targets Congress'

The remarks came a day after Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka alleged that the Congress government had engineered the 'scam' in Bengaluru's waste management sector and received a Rs 10,000-crore kickback through a long-term garbage processing tender awarded to a private company.

Ashoka, who later submitted a complaint to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot seeking an investigation into the tender process, claimed the contract had been awarded to a single company for 35 years at highly inflated rates, causing a massive financial burden on the public exchequer.

In a post on X, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the alleged scam is the latest in a series of corruption cases under the Congress government.

"After MUDA scam, contractor scam, housing scam, liquor scam and land scam, Karnataka is now witnessing a massive garbage scam worth Rs 39,000 crore," Poonawalla alleged.

He claimed the tipping fee for waste disposal has risen from about Rs 260 per tonne to Rs 2,400 per tonne, an increase of nearly 950 per cent.

Poonawalla alleged that while the earlier system would have cost around Rs 6,117 crore over 30 years, the new contract will cost more than Rs 39,000 crore.

"The earlier system would have cost around Rs 6,117 crore over 30 years. The new contract pushes the figure beyond Rs 39,000 crore, placing an unbearable burden on taxpayers already struggling with civic breakdown," he said.

The BJP spokesperson also alleged that the tender process was "pre-decided", with an informal understanding to favour certain entities even before bids were invited.

He further cited repeated revisions to the detailed project report (DPR), initially prepared by RITES Limited, and questioned successive changes in tipping fee estimates.

Poonawalla alleged irregularities in land acquisition related to the project and claimed that procurement norms under the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements Act were bypassed.

"Consultants were changed and conditions altered mid-process to suit specific bidders," he added.

Levelling similar allegations, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said in a post on X, "Congress means loot, loot means Congress." Bhandari alleged that "massive irregularities" have been unearthed in the Rs 39,437 crore waste management tender and accused the state government of prioritising political interests over governance.

"Bengaluru is drowning in garbage, Congress is taking commission from it; and the Chief Minister is busy silencing internal rebellion," he alleged.

The Congress government in Karnataka is yet to react to the allegations.