A tender dispute involving nine Bengaluru flyover projects worth more than ₹3,060 crore has escalated after BJP leader R. Ashoka alleged that eligibility conditions were ignored to favour ineligible contractors and demanded a high-level investigation into the process.
Ashoka raised the allegations in a post on X while referring to a report published by Prajavani. He alleged that the tender process for the projects violated key conditions, including the requirement that contractors should have experience executing works in urban areas.
According to the allegations cited in the report, officials associated with B-SMILE were proceeding to award contracts to contractors who did not meet the stated qualifications. Ashoka also alleged violations of National Highway rules and Karnataka Works Rules during the process. The supplied report does not include an independent finding by a court, investigative agency or procurement authority establishing that these violations occurred.
The controversy centres on the decision to cancel the tender process and invite fresh bids. Ashoka said the fact that a subcommittee had directed the cancellation and re-tendering of the process demonstrated that irregularities had taken place. However, the supplied material does not provide the subcommittee’s order, the tender documents, the names of the bidders or the official reasons recorded for cancellation.
Ashoka called for more than a routine re-tender. He demanded that the state government constitute a Special Investigation Team or order an inquiry by a senior investigative agency to determine whether officials or other parties had attempted to influence the award of contracts.
The projects are part of Bengaluru’s broader effort to expand grade-separated road infrastructure in a city facing persistent traffic congestion and pressure on its existing road network. Flyovers can affect junction capacity, construction disruptions, land and utility coordination, and the movement of pedestrians and local traffic. The quality of the procurement process therefore has implications beyond the immediate contracting dispute, particularly when several projects are bundled into a programme of this scale.
Ashoka addressed his questions to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, asking who authorised the alleged relaxation of tender conditions and whether any officials were involved. He also linked the allegations to wider claims by contractors’ organisations that the state government was seeking commissions in public works. Those broader claims are allegations and are not independently established in the supplied material.
The report does not include responses from the Chief Minister, the Bengaluru Development Minister, B-SMILE officials, the contractors concerned or the state procurement authorities. It also does not specify the revised tender timeline, the estimated cost of each flyover, the locations of all nine projects or whether any contract has already been formally awarded.
The immediate procedural step identified in the report is the cancellation of the existing tender process and the proposed invitation of fresh bids. Any official inquiry, publication of the tender evaluation records or release of the subcommittee’s decision would determine the factual basis of the allegations and clarify how the re-tendering will proceed.
