Govt to accept Justice Nagamohan Das committee report on 40 pc commission

BENGALURU: The state government is preparing to expose the alleged 40 per cent commission scam involving the previous BJP government. A detailed report has been prepared by the committee headed by retired high court judge, Justice Nagamohan Das, and is set to be submitted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

The report suggests that contractors were forced to pay 40 per cent  commission to government officials to release funds for various projects. The contractors’ association had earlier written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other officials about the alleged scam.

The Congress party, which is now in power, had made the alleged scam a major issue during the election campaign, with posters reading ’40 pc government’, and ran a ‘PayCM’ campaing. The party had promised to investigate the alleged scam if it came to power.

The Nagamohan Das committee was formed by the Congress government to investigate the allegations. The committee collected information from various departments and prepared a report, which will be submitted to the Chief Minister.

The contractors’ association had accused the previous BJP government of taking 40 per cent commission for releasing contractor funds. The then-president of the contractors’ association, Kempanna, had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others about the 40 per cent irregularities. Kempanna had alleged that several departments had fixed 40 per cent commission for contractor payments.

The Congress party, which was then in opposition, had protested statewide based on the contractors’ association’s allegations. During the election, the Congress party had used the BJP’s alleged 40 per cent commission as a major campaign issue.

The Congress leaders had promised to investigate the 40 per cent commission if they came to power. Now, the Nagamohan Das committee has collected information from various departments and prepared a report, which the Congress is likely to use to attack the BJP during the ongoing legislature session.