Home Secretary D Roopa seeks probe into IPS officer Nimbalkar's role in tender

News Network
December 28, 2020

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Bengaluru, Dec 27: Karnataka Home Secretary D. Roopa on Sunday sought an inquiry into the role of Additional Commissioner of Police Hemant Nimbalkar in the tender process for the Nirbhaya safe city project.

“The irregularities in the tender process make it necessary to investigate the role of Nimbalkar as chairman of the tender inviting committee and tender scrutiny committee, as he has been misguiding higher authorities…,” said Roopa in a statement, hours after the IPS officer refuted her charges earlier in the day.

Roopa, also an IPS officer, recently wrote to Chief Secretary T.M. Vijaya Bhaskar to remove Nimbalkaras chairman of the tender invite committee for the Rs 619 crore project.

The ambitious project is being implemented under the Central government’s Nirbhaya Fund for protecting the dignity and ensuring safety of women across the country.

“Nimbalkar has again given wrong facts and misinformation, misleading the government, press and public,” Roopa claimed.

Referring to the irregularities in the third tender call, which is on the e-Procurement portal of the state government, Roopa said as per the Finance Department standard bid document, minimum annual turnover of a bidder must be two times the value of the tender.

“The tender value is Rs 619 crore, but the minimum turnover fixed is Rs 250 crore. Even with the latest amendment, the minimum requirement is 100 per cent of tender value or amount payable in first year. Even that is about Rs 500 crore. It’s a clear violation of the direction of the Finance Department,” she contended.

The state government has floated the third tender on November 8 after cancelling the first two tenders earlier. The latest tender is slated for opening on January 8, 2021 for short-listing the bidders.

Construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Matrix Safety & Surveillance and state-run Bharat Electronic Ltd (BEL) are the bidders for the project, which involves installing closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras and allied equipment for the surveillance network across this tech city.

Refuting Roopa’s charges, Nimbalkar told reporters that the 3 companies were selected for the tender in pre-qualification.

“Though BEL did not bid for the project in the first tender, it has bid in the second tender, which was cancelled on June 20 after the central government said Chinese equipment should not be used in the project,” he said.

Roopa had also objected to involving the global professional services firm Ernst and Young as a consultant in the project because “the tender is for supply of goods and services and not for consultancy services, as per the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement rules.

Roopa on Saturday claimed that a complaint against her action against E&Y appears to have been made at the behest of those benefiting from biased and unfair tenders.

“Each of my actions in this regard is to protect public interest and public money in bona fide discharge of my duties as public servant,” she reiterated.

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News Network
September 16,2024

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In a heart-breaking incident, 19-year-old Shaun D'Souza, a native of Vittalwadi in Udupi's Kundapur taluk, tragically lost his life in the UAE due to heat stroke.

Shaun, the beloved son of Elias Cyril D'Souza and Pramila D'Souza, originally from Hosabettu, Moodbidri, had been pursuing his college education in the UAE.

He was admitted to a hospital in Ras Al Khaimah, approximately 115 km from Dubai, after collapsing from heatstroke. Despite receiving immediate medical attention, Shaun breathed his last on Sunday, September 15. 

He is deeply mourned by his parents and two siblings. The family, who had been residing near St. Mary's Church in the UAE, are grappling with the profound loss. Shaun’s father, Elias, works as a manager for a private company, while his mother, Pramila, is an accountant.

The local community has come together to offer their support and condolences in this time of sorrow.

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News Network
September 20,2024

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court today sought a report from the Karnataka High Court over controversial remarks made by Justice Vedavyasachar Srishananda during a recent court hearing.

Justice Srishananda, while addressing a landlord-tenant dispute, referred to a Muslim-majority area in Bengaluru as "Pakistan" and made a misogynistic comment involving a woman lawyer. 

A five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices S Khanna, B R Gavai, S Kant, and H Roy, expressed the need for establishing clear guidelines for constitutional court judges regarding their remarks in court. 

The Supreme Court bench said that when social media plays an active role in monitoring and amplifying courtroom proceedings, there is an urgency to ensure judicial commentary aligns with the decorum expected from courts of law.

"Our attention has been drawn to some comments made by Karnataka High Court judge Justice V Srishananda during the conduct of judicial proceedings. We have asked the AG and SG to assist us. We ask the registrar general of the High Court to submit a report to this court after seeking administrative directions from the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court. This exercise may be carried out in 2 weeks," the top court directed.

Videos of Justice Srishanananda have gone viral on social media.

In one video, he refers to a Muslim-dominated locality in Bengaluru as "Pakistan" and on another video he was seen making objectionable comments against a woman lawyer. In the second incident, Justice Srishanananda can be heard telling the woman lawyer that she seemed to know a lot about the "opposition party", so much so that she might be able to reveal the colour of their undergarments.

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News Network
September 14,2024

Mangaluru: The block level and District Congress Committee presidents in the state will be changed in the next one month for better reach into society and bring in organisational fortification, said Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president G C Chandrasheker on Saturday.

The All India Congress Committee and KPCC have a vision for bringing a change in how the party works with the last man and woman in the state, he said at a press conference here.

"We are looking at bringing development models into the state with a new vision. We are a party that likes to work with the opposition in the developmental aspects and keep all other matters away that do not relate to the development of the state.

"We have a great respect for the people of the coast who are considered to be forward-looking and perceptible, but it is also true that we do not have the numbers in the upper house and in the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)," he said.

"Our endeavour is to not only create a strong pro-development workforce at the base level by strengthening the second and third level leadership in the state," he said.

Chandrasheker, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, said that he and his four colleagues of the rank of working presidents of the KPCC are going to every district to infuse the new thinking in our workers and leaders.

"This move will get a new surge considering the party is facing byelections in Shiggaon, Chennapatna and Sandhur segments and also vacant seats in the legislative council, followed by elections to the Urban Local Bodies and Panchayats" he said.

When asked about the reason for the changes, Chandrashekar said most of the people have already lived their tenures. The party wants to reward those who have not been given tickets to contest in the 2023 state assembly elections and 2024 Lok Sabha elections for political reasons.

There are quite good leaders and hard-working ground level workers who have great potential to lead the party in the coming years, he said.

"Women will get at least one top post in all District Congress Committees and block levels. There is also a move to give responsible positions for the workers and leaders coming from different strata of society, which are deliverable. The party will not shy away from it," he said.

The other two working presidents, Dr Manjunath Bhandary and Vasanth Kumar, were also present at the press conference.

Kumar said some of the regions in the state are dominated by the BJP. "We want to end this run and defeat the divisive models of the BJP." Bhandary said the Indian National Congress was aiming at a high development phase in the state and involve the opposition parties and their leaders in the development plans in the state. 

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