Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd’s multi-storey complex project in Peenya Industrial Area started in 2018 has faced delays, financial setbacks, and corrosion risks.

BENGALURU: What started in 2018 as a grand vision – a multi-storey complex at Peenya Industrial Area – has now turned into a tale of delays, financial setbacks and a corrosion risk.
The Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd (KSHDCL) embarked on Rs 8.8 crore project to build a warehouse, exhibition centre, and office space, aiming to save Rs 50.7 lakh in annual rent.
Years later, the structure remains far from complete, following a delay in concreting. With the columns unfinished, the steel reinforcement is at the risk of corrosion. In fact, the building was supposed to be completed by March 2019.
The sordid state of affairs, was highlighted by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The audit found that rules pertaining to transparency in tenders were circumvented by giving exemptions to the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Ltd (KRIDL), the govt agency entrusted with the construction.
The work order was split into seven estimates-one for each floor of the building. After the MoU was signed with KRIDL, Rs 88.9 lakh was released. In Jan 2019, KRIDL pointed out that nearly 40% of the work had been completed and sought the release of 25% of the estimate, which amounted to Rs 44.4 lakh.
However, the full amount was not disbursed and that triggered a chain of delays with the construction work coming to a halt in May 2019. By then, Rs 1.1 crore had been spent on the project. “In Jan 2020, KRIDL EE (executive engineer) again requested the company (KSHDCL) to release the balance amount and urged the company that the column steel reinforcement would get corroded if the concreting was not done. The company in Oct 2020 requested KRIDL to submit a revised estimate to complete the basement floor work to the level that the ground floor could be utilised. There was no further progress in the work to date,” the audit observed.
Meanwhile, the state govt endorsed KSHDCL’s reply that the project was decided to be executed in a phased manner based on the availability of funds and also because of a lack of skilled people to monitor the project.