Bengaluru, March 4 : Former minister and senior BJP leader D.N. Jeevaraj has alleged criminal activity in connection with stamp papers used under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and demanded that the state government order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter.

Addressing the media at the BJP state office, Jagannath Bhavan, in Bengaluru on Wednesday, Jeevaraj claimed, citing documents, that in the Sringeri constituency the Jal Jeevan Mission had turned into a â??Jal Jeevan Commission.â??

He alleged that although more than Rs 150 crore had been released by the Central government for the scheme, not a single household had received water.

Referring to the earlier stamp paper scam involving king pin Abdul Karim Telgi, he said that in the past, stamp papers resembled currency notes at the top, making it easy to create fake stamp papers. He noted that the government later introduced changes by incorporating serial numbers and QR codes and launched an e-stamping app. When scanned, the app is supposed to display details of the purchaser and the unique number. However, he alleged that under JJM, a scam â??beyond the scale of the Telgi scamâ?? had taken place.

Jeevaraj displayed copies of stamp papers related to agreements between the government, specifically the Zilla Panchayat, and contractors under JJM.

He pointed out that stamp paper bearing number â??INKA 76845429815984 Wâ?? appeared to have been issued on the same day and at the same time in 2024 for nine agreements in N.R. Pura and Koppa taluks. Another stamp paper number, he said, was used for 11 agreements related to borewell drilling.

He stated that the department concerned falls under the portfolio of Minister for RDPR Priyank Kharge.

Out of 30 agreements examined by them, he claimed several irregularities had been detected and alleged that the stamp papers were fake. â??This is not just a loss to the government exchequer; it is 100 per cent criminal activity,â?? he said.

He further alleged that people were discussing the involvement of individuals close to the local MLA in Sringeri and claimed that such incidents had occurred with the MLAâ??s tacit support.

He added that when another stamp paper was scanned, the information indicated that it might not be genuine, though he said it was not yet clear whether it was fake or original. He expressed apprehension that a local inquiry could result in the matter being covered up.

Jeevaraj said he personally sought to verify the depth of borewells drilled under the scheme by inserting a camera into them.

He claimed to have inspected 10 borewells at his own expense and alleged that in one case in Kadegadde Thalamakki in Koppa taluk, a borewell with an actual depth of 228 feet had been billed as 587 feet. In another case, a 260-foot borewell was allegedly billed as 587 feet.

He said payments had already been made for these works.

He further alleged that in Balaguru Gram Panchayat, a bill of Rs 1.49 lakh had been raised despite there being no borewell, and that in Gaurihalli, Rs 1.38 lakh had been billed for a non-existent borewell.

He also displayed a newspaper clipping reporting that Congress district president Anshumanth had raised concerns in a KDP meeting about alleged irregularities under JJM and had urged the MLA to take note. He said Zilla Panchayat member H.M. Satish had also alleged in a public meeting that a scam worth hundreds of crores had taken place under JJM.

Jeevaraj further alleged irregularities in the construction of overhead tanks, claiming that trenches were not dug to the prescribed depth for laying pipes and that substandard pipes were used.

BJP state vice-president Harathalu Halappa and Mudigere leader Deepak Doddiah were present at the press conference.

/IANS