Bengaluru, Jun 15 (DHNS): Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar said there was rampant corruption and maladministration in the state.

Be it Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, revenue department or the forest department, corruption and nepotism are high, Shettar said. He said that the Karnataka High Court, which was hearing a government employee’s transfer case recently, had also observed that there seemed to be no administration in Karnataka.

He was participating in a discussion on the demands for grants by various departments in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

Referring to the manner in which the BBMP was functioning, he said on May 20, Shanthkumar, while operating an earthmover to clean a stormwater drain, was washed away. The body has not been traced so far. His wife Saraswathi, 24, was awarded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh. But she was asked to produce the body of her husband to claim the compensation, he said.

Shettar said, later the Palike told Saraswathi that if she wanted money immediately, then she should come with the area MLA to get compensation of Rs 1 lakh.

He said there was favouritism in allocation of Ashraya houses for the poor and added that ineligible people were getting houses. He produced a letter written by one Hosamani, who said he was denied an Ashraya house by a gram panchayat in Kundagol.

“The aggrieved person says he is poor. But in the beneficiaries’ list of the government, even a KSRTC employee has been given a house. A lot of manipulation happens while entering data into the computer. Hold an enquiry into this case,” he said.