BJP leader claims corporator sought bribe

MD of Garuda group alleges BBMP man demanded bribe; violated contractual obligations

MD of Garuda group alleges BBMP man demanded bribe; violated contractual obligations

With the Garuda Group mulling over filing a complaint against a BBMP councillor on bribing charges, the Lokayukta will find itself in a curious situation, since its already probing a case against the shopping mall.


Big Loss: Garudachar, claims that the councillors created a scary situation
inside the mall, as a result of which he suffered a loss of rs 50 lakh.u00a0
Pic/Satish Badiger

MG Udaya Garudachar, MD, Garuda Group, and promoter of the shopping mall, has openly accused H Padmaraj, a BJP councillor and chairman of a standing committee on markets, of demanding bribe from him, when he and the committee members visited the mall for inspection on Saturday.

A violation
"Padmaraj and other councillors not only violated the management contract while visiting the mall, but also demanded a bribe from me. I am going to lodge a complaint with the Lokayukta in a couple of days," he said.

The mall is developed based on a PPP (public private partnership) model with Garuda Group holding a majority stake of 60 per cent, and BBMP with a share of 40 percent.

The Lokayukta is probing the charges that the mall has encroached storm water drain and violated building bylaws, and also scrutinising the terms of reference between the government and Maveric Investment and Holding Pvt Ltd, Garuda Group's holding company.

Scary situation
"It is really an interesting situation for us," said Lokayukta Justice N Santhosh Hegde. "Apart from violating the contractual obligation, the councillors trespassed the mall and created a scary situation at the stalls. As a result, customers abstained from shopping, and it caused a loss of around Rs 50 lakh," said Garudachar.

Since Garudachar is a BJP leader, the incident has given rise to political developments inside the party. While Garudachar has complained with the party city president, Padmaraj has taken the issue to state president K S Eswarappa.