BELAGAVI: The Karnataka Lokayukta conducted raids on Tuesday after initiating a case against officials from the Karnataka Slum Development Board and a private contractor. This investigation pertains to alleged significant irregularities and fraudulent billing related to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) 2022 in Ramdurg, Belagavi district.
Lokayukta teams executed simultaneous raids at several locations, including Slum Board offices in Hindalga (Belagavi), Shambulingappa’s residence in Hubballi, and the NPCC office in Bengaluru. The residences of individuals such as Girimallappa Jogur, Kiran Hosakoti, and Rindanagouda Shekargouda Patil in Vijayapura and Bagalkot districts were also searched. Key documents were seized, and further investigations are ongoing.
Initial inquiries suggest that officials colluded with the contractor to produce fake work bills, despite no houses being built for beneficiaries in the designated slum areas under the ‘Housing for All’ scheme. These fraudulent bills were processed through official channels and approved for fund disbursement.
The individuals implicated include retired assistant executive engineer Shambulingappa BS and contractor Prasad NP of the National Projects Construction Corporation Ltd, along with other officials linked to the process.
Investigators discovered serious procedural errors, such as neglecting to perform proper field inspections and failing to provide GPS-based photographic evidence. Projects were falsely reported as completed, facilitating fraudulent payments.
Records indicate that 13 partial bills were submitted from March 29, 2019, to June 12, 2023, resulting in the release of Rs 29.4 crore between April 2019 and November 2024. Officials mentioned that materials worth approximately Rs 6.1 crore were supplied to nearly 600 beneficiaries, while an excess of around Rs 23.3 crore was allegedly misappropriated.
A case has been filed by Lokayukta SP Prasanna Desai, with the investigation led by Inspector Venkatesh Yadahalli.
