Every action of mine is to safeguard public interest, money: D Roopa hits out at Nimbalkar

Bengaluru, Dec 28: Karnataka Home Secretary, D Roopa has written a letter to the Chief Secretary of Karnataka, Vijay Bhaskar alleging that fellow IPS officer Hemanth Nimbalkar has made a false and motivated complaint against her.

While demanding a probe against Nimbalkar and alleged that he was trying to favour a private company in the Bengaluru Safe City Project. The Times of India had published a report that an unnamed IPS officer had impersonated the Home Secretary to get confidential information about the project from a private auditor who was tasked with drawing up the tender documents. The content of the article is on the lines of the complaint written by Nimbalkar.

"The complaint against my actions appears to have been made at behest of those benefiting from the biased and unfair tender. Each of my action has been to safeguard public interest and public money in bonafide discharge of my duties as public servant. I myself being Home Secretary, the complaint alleging impersonation is false and motivated," Roopa said.

My whistle blowing in respect of Nirbhaya/safe-city project. pic.twitter.com/AySN4jH2xc

— D Roopa IPS (@D_Roopa_IPS) December 25, 2020

Meanwhile as the war of words between two senior IPS officers in Karnataka intensified over the Rs 619 crore Bengaluru Safe City project, state Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said the government would look into the matter.

Addressing reporters here, Bommai said, "I have already spoken to the Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar and Director General of Police Praveen Sood to take note of it. They will take a call on what directions and orders to be issued."

The minister was reacting to a query on the two officers crossing swords on the issue in public.

Additional Commissioner of Police Hemant Nimbalkar, who is Chairman of Nirbhaya Tender Inviting Committee and tender scrutiny Committee, has alleged that someone had impersonated Home Secretary D Roopa and tried to gain access to classified information, which according to him tantamounted to ''illegal interference.''

In response, Roopa, who is an Inspector General of Police rank IPS officer, said she accessed the tender documents and found serious irregularities in them.

Calling it a ''whistle-blowing'' act, Roopa said the Bharat Electronics Ltd had complained to the Prime Minister''s Office that the tender favoured a particular vendor. Subsequently, the government ordered Bengaluru police Commissioner Kamal Pant to probe into the ''illegal interference'' in the process. At a press conference on Sunday, Nimbalkar said the claim that Bharat Electronics Limited was wrongly disqualified was "absolutely false." He said Call-III of the tender for Safe City Project was in process.

Reacting to Nimbalkar''s clarification, Roopa accused him of ''misleading'' the government and demanded an inquiry into this role in the whole process. "He is deep in corruption even in this Nirbhaya Tender of 1,067 crore, of which Central Government fund is 700 crore. Needless to say that he has been chargesheeted by CBI in 2020 in 4,500 crore IMA company scam," she alleged in a statement.

D Roopa's rebuttal:

Hemant Nimbalkar IPS, Chairman of Nirbhaya Tender Inviting Committee and chairman of tender scrutiny Committee held a press conference today on 27.12.20 and again given wrong facts and misinformation, misleading the Government, press and public.

Note that even in latest tender [Call 3] which is presently ONLINE in eProcurement portal, the following gross irregularities exist

(1) As per Finance Dept standard bid document KW4 for such tenders, minimum annual turnover of biddee must be 2-times the value of tender. Here tender value is Rs 620 Crores but minimum turnover fixed is Rs 250 Crores. Even with latest amendment the minimum requirement is 100% of tender value or amount payable in first year. Even that is about Rs 500 Crores. So clear cut violation of direction of Finance Dept.

(2) BEL is the Navratna that has expertise in this work as floated in tender ( installation of cctv) . It has repeatedly complained that this is done to favour individual particular vendors. It has brought out how the vendor that was favoured was giving Chinese cameras that is unsafe for security.

(3) Further, as per Rule 3 Karnaraka Transparency in Public Procurement ( herein referred to as KTPP) Rules ,this tender is "Supply of goods and services" tender, because it is about cctv procurement and installation. This is NOT a "Consultancy Services" tender.

(4) But as per Rule 28H of KTPP Rules only for "Consultancy Services" QCBS - Quality cum Cost Based Selection - method can be used. It is not permitted to be used for this tender. Hence the KTPP Rules violated by Tender.

(5) Rules 28H KTPP Rules prescribe that standard bid document must be used. But neither KW4 or KW5 - standard bid document - issued by Finance Dept not used.

The violations of KTPP Act and Rules are endless.

These irregularities make it all the more necessary to investigate into the role of Mr Hemant Nimbalkar IPS, the chairman of tender inviting Committee and tender scrutiny Committee, who has been misguiding the higher authorities in the Government.