SportsPosted at: Sep 29 2026 8:44PM


BJP alleges Rs 444-cr KSWAN 3.0 tender irregularities, seeks ED probe

Bengaluru, Sept 29 (UNI) BJP leader and former BBMP ruling party leader NR Ramesh has alleged largescale irregularities in the Rs 444-crore Karnataka State Wide Area Network (KSWAN) 3.0 tender and sought an Enforcement Directorate probe into the process, while the controversy has its roots in objections raised by industry participants during the tendering exercise earlier this year.
In a complaint submitted to the ED on September 28, Ramesh named former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's son and Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah and senior IAS officer and Centre for e-Governance CEO Bhoobalan, alleging that the tender process was structured to favour Cisco.
Ramesh alleged that the original KSWAN 3.0 tender floated in July 2025 was cancelled after bids from three companies, following which a fresh tender worth about Rs 444 crore was issued in December 2025. He claimed the revised specifications effectively favoured Cisco and that representations from other prospective participants were ignored.
The controversy had earlier drawn attention from industry stakeholders, who alleged that the revised technical specifications moved away from a multi-OEM architecture and favoured a particular networking manufacturer.
The Karnataka government, however, rejected allegations that the tender was designed to favour any particular OEM.
Governance Secretary Pankaj Kumar Pandey said the original specifications, prepared in 2022, had become outdated and were revised to meet expanded requirements, including connectivity to a larger number of government offices.
He also said no OEM was consulted while revising the RFP.
The dispute also involved state-owned Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) and Cisco. TCIL had blacklisted Cisco from participating in its tenders for two years in January, alleging that Cisco failed to provide mandatory bid documents and manufacturer authorisation in time and imposed additional conditions at the final stage of the KSWAN bidding process.
Cisco, in its response, said it complied with applicable laws and maintained high standards under its code of business conduct.
Ramesh has alleged that TCIL had complained to the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms and the e-Governance division over the issue but that no action was taken.
He has also questioned the exclusion of bandwidth services from the Rs 444-crore tender, alleging that the component could subsequently be awarded separately at a substantially higher cost.
RailTel Corporation of India subsequently received the Letter of Intent from the Centre for e-Governance to act as system integrator for KSWAN 3.0. The LoI was valued at Rs 444.44 crore, including taxes, with execution scheduled through March 2031.
Earlier reports had also raised questions over whether the revised tender restricted competition, with critics citing concerns under the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement framework. The government maintained that the revised requirements were necessitated by changes in the scale and technological needs of the project.
Ramesh has sought an ED investigation into the tender process and the roles of the officials and political figures named in his complaint, alleging corruption, misuse of power and financial irregularities.
The allegations contained in the BJP leader's complaint have not been independently established, and there is no finding of wrongdoing against the persons named in the complaint.
UNI BDN
Tags: #BJP alleges Rs 444-cr KSWAN 3.0 tender irregularities# seeks ED probe
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