Scam loading? Congress govt’s Rs 613 crore sweeper rental proposal in Karnataka sparks outrage, opposition warns of a massive kickback racket

Congress and corruption have been closely intertwined as the party and its I.N.D.I. Alliance which are yet to recover from the humiliating electoral defeat in the Bihar assembly elections is likely to find itself in another predicament due to a potential major financial scam in Karnataka. On 13th November, the Congress state government authorised the rental of 46 mechanical sweeping machines for seven years at a cost of ₹613.25 crore. The devices are going to be placed within the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s (GBA) boundaries. HK Patil, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, informed reporters that the equipment would be used in all five GBA corporations. The self-propelled mechanical sweepers, dumper trucks and human resources will be rented. A technical committee’s advice served as the basis for the decision. These mechanical sweeping equipment will be used on 1,682.10 kilometre of arterial and sub-arterial roads within Bengaluru’s 12,878.89 kilometre road network to keep the area clean. Each equipment is anticipated to cost the authority almost ₹2 crore annually and the five recently established municipal corporations of Bengaluru would provide all of the funding. GBA at first suggested renting 59 sweeping machines for a total of ₹781 crore. However, while presenting the proposal to the cabinet, the Urban Development Department (UDD) reduced the number of vehicles to 46 while raising the price of each vehicle by ₹10 lakh. Opposition, netizens draw attention to a possible scam The development not only prompted the opposition to raise its eyebrows, but many people pointed out that the substantial figures attached to the purchase trigger suspicions and suggest yet another scandal in the state. Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje stated that the extent of expenditure raises “serious concerns” regarding who benefits from the inflated prices and asserted that a “significant financial scandal is unfolding” in Karnataka. She noted that even if the municipality paid the salaries of 46 drivers and 100 helpers for seven years, the total would still only be about ₹60 to 70 crores. The government is shelling out ₹613 crores, but even after adding machinery, labour, and maintenance, the amount should not surpass ₹100 crores. However, ₹613 crores are being spent by the government. “This raises serious doubts about where the remaining ₹500 crores is going and who is benefiting from this inflated expenditure. I strongly urge the government to drop this proposal immediately and ensure full transparency for the people of Karnataka,” she expressed. A massive financial scandal is unfolding in Karnataka. The Congress government has hired 46 road sweeping machines for 7 years at a shocking cost of ₹613 crores. A self-propelled road sweeper costs about ₹50 to 80 lakhs, which means 46 machines would come to roughly ₹37 to 38… pic.twitter.com/68zQVGaqLN— Shobha Karandlaje (@ShobhaBJP) November 16, 2025 Janata Dal (Secular) leader Nikhil Kumar remarked that there are 26 sweeping machines in Bengaluru’s Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) yards that are not in use but the governemnt wants to spend ₹613 crore to rent 46 more machines at an annual cost of ₹1.9 crore each, despite the fact that the same machines only cost ₹1.3–3 crore to purchase outright. Nikhil charged, “This is not bad math; this is math murdered, buried and cremated in broad daylight.” He accused that while Boston Consulting Group (BCG) advocated a pay-for-performance model and the Expert Committee recommended buying the machines, “the DCMs’s (Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar) team created a new economic theory: choose the most expensive option and label it governance.” Kumar then urged that Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Monhandas Pai give this government a crash lesson in simple maths before another 600+ crore vanishes under the pretence of “innovation.” Bengaluru has 26 sweeping machines lying unused in BBMP yards, yet this @INCKarnataka government, headed by our finance-loving DCM, now wants to blow ₹613 crore to rent 46 more at ₹1.9 crore per machine per year, even though the same machines cost only ₹1.3–3 crore to buy… pic.twitter.com/yIWErpy7r7— Nikhil Kumar (@Nikhil_Kumar_k) November 17, 2025 An individual reiterated how the “math is not mathing,” and asked, “Rent 46 sweeping machines at 1 crore per year for 7 years. How does that add up to 613 crores?” The person added that the “bigger question” is whether these will be gathering dust like the 26 machines that are currently inactive because BBMP lacks the funds to “pay” the operator and staff. The math is not mathing? Rent 46 sweeping machines at 1crore per year, for 7 years.How does that add up to 613 crores?Bigger question – will these be catching dust as the current 26 machines lying unused, because BBMP does not have money to "pay" money to the employees…— Whitefield Rising (@WFRising) November 14, 2025 A