Driving schools take joy ride at BBMPs cost

BANGALORE: The cashstrapped Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) claims to have no money for city’s development works, but, it’s not the same, when it comes to spending on private driving schools. Sources revealed that funds allotted for BBMP’s welfare schemes are ‘misused.’ Every year, BBMP reserves 22.75 per cent from its annual budget for the SC/ST and other backward classes for various welfare schemes.Under this scheme, the Palike trains candidates through private driving schools, for which they call for tender.The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike East zone which had called for tenders last February had finalised six different private driving schools.While most of the driving schools charge Rs 2,500-Rs 3,000 per candidate for training, BBMP had agreed to pay Rs 3,800 per candidate from these six schools. “Each school had produced documents claiming that they had trained 70 to 80 candidates and received lakhs as fees. However, these schools had not trained any candidate,” official sources from BBMP revealed.Sources also informed that the schools produced a list of candidates’ names, whom they had claimed to train. “As per the procedure, when the driving schools produce the list, they have to submit driving licence numbers along with the names.Also, they have to mention the Authority which issued the licence . But these driving schools did not have the documents required. This proves the list is fake,” sources alleged. Documents available with Express reveal that many of the candidates have got their DLs in 2007. But these driving schools have produced the candidates’ documents claiming that they were trained in 2011, for which money has been credited.In the list produced by these schools, many candidates’ names have been repeated many times. Documents also reveal that the names of the candidates which are repeated have the same address, but were submitted in different application forms.