Soon after being given charge of the important urban development ministry after D.K. Shivakumar was sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka on June 3, the urbane Krishna Byre Gowda (KBG) declined to assume charge until the ambit of his ministry’s jurisdiction was clarified. Since the Bangalore Development ministry was retained by the chief minister, KBG needed to know to what extent his jurisdiction was curtailed by the chief minister’s retention of Bengaluru as his remit. Now under a compromise, the chief minister has direct control of planning the growth and development of this crumbling city (pop.15 million) dubbed India’s Silicon Valley. KBG supervises the day-to-day myriad problems of this reportedly hi-tech city globally notorious for traffic jams and pot-holed roads.

Soon after taking charge of this new ministry, while on an inspection tour of the city’s pot-holed roads, KGB, the most academically qualified (Christ University, Bangalore and American University, Washington D.C) with international development work experience in the new Karnataka cabinet, informed supplicating civic officials that constructing durable roads is “not rocket science”. This observation attracted considerable media comment. Evidently, the minister is not aware that the root cause of Bangalore’s ill reputed roads networks is not technology deficit, but highly resilient “commissions raj”.

Under this well-oiled system, the state’s PWD (public works department) advertises for tenders for constructing and maintaining roads in the city’s 369 wards. Not only are contracts awarded to the lowest bidders of dubious qualifications, they are also granted to contractors skilled in the art of paying-off bureaucrats in the state and local governments. This iron-clad system, with commissions reportedly shared all the way to the top, is so well-perfected that it has defied all reform and cleansing efforts spread over several decades.

In Karnataka’s 2024 assembly election, “40 percent commission raj” was a major issue and prompted the defeat of the then incumbent BJP government. Now according to the Civic Contractors Association, under the Congress government, fixed commissions for bagging contracts, and clearing pending bills have risen to 60 percent. With their margins squeezed, contractors have no option but to cut corners by using substandard material and paper thin asphalting which collapse into potholes during the first monsoon rains. In debates about national development, the silent elephant in the room which receives cursory attention is institutionalised corruption. Expelling this elephant is indeed rocket science.