Five failed tenders, no closure: Allegations of corruption rock Bescom vehicle contract

Sources blame Bescom MD N Shivashankar, Energy Minister’s PS Satish Kumar and Technical Director Ramesh H J for repeated cancellations

Bengaluru

A detailed review of tender records has revealed that the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) floated its vehicle-hiring tender as many as five times over a six-month period between June 2025 and January 2026, with each bidding cycle ending without finalisation or award of contract.

Highly placed sources within Bescom, speaking to blrpost.com, alleged that the repeated cancellations were the result of lapses at the highest levels of the organisation. According to these sources, Bescom Managing Director N Shivashankar, Satish Kumar, Personal Secretary to Energy Minister K J George, and Ramesh H J, Director (Technical), Bescom, were responsible for the situation. The sources claimed that the tender process was allegedly being manipulated to favour certain contractors. Bescom is now likely to call for the vehicle-hiring tender for the sixth time on Monday, February 2.

Tender documents show that the process was first initiated on June 21, 2025, with bids invited up to July 21, 2025. This initial round was cancelled without any contract being awarded. Subsequently, the utility reissued the tender multiple times with revised timelines. The second bidding cycle opened on August 28, 2025, and closed on September 11, 2025. This was followed by a third round from September 26 to October 13, 2025.

After three unsuccessful attempts, Bescom floated the tender again on December 1, 2025, fixing December 16, 2025, as the deadline for submission of bids. When this round also failed to reach a conclusion, a fifth call was issued on December 24, 2025, with the final date for bid submission extended to January 3, 2026. According to tender records, all five rounds were eventually cancelled.

The repeated reissuance of the tender indicates prolonged delays in finalising the procurement of hired vehicles, which are essential for field operations, inspections, maintenance activities and administrative movement within the power utility. Each bidding cycle followed a similar structure, with fresh opening and closing dates, but none resulted in a final award.

Such repeated cancellations can have operational implications, particularly for departments that depend on hired vehicles for routine and emergency activities. In the absence of a concluded tender, utilities generally resort to interim arrangements or extensions of existing contracts. Sources indicated that Bescom is currently operating under an extension phase.

Alleged favoritism

Sources within Bescom further alleged that Satish Kumar has emerged as a fresh power centre in the tendering process and that contractors are required to approach him for ‘approvals’. This arrangement is allegedly endorsed by MD N Shivashankar and Technical Director Ramesh H J. The sources claimed that this pattern is being followed across multiple tenders.

In the vehicle-hiring tender, Bescom is allegedly working to grant the contract to Manjushree Travels, run by a person identified as Abhilash, who is said to have close links with Ramesh H J. However, due to what the sources described as immense opposition, the tender could not be awarded. Instead of proceeding with a transparent award process, the officials allegedly cancelled the tender five times.

The sources warned that unless Energy Minister K J George addresses the issue of Satish Kumar’s control over tenders, it could bring a bad reputation to the ministry. They pointed to the recent controversy involving Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) Managing Director Pankaj Kumar Pandey. Pandey reportedly did not attend meetings with the Chief Minister and has since been shifted out of the department.

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