Bengaluru: Days after the govt decided to undertake cloud seeding to fight drought, it has exempted the water resources department from the tender process to procure services worth Rs 28.5 crore from a firm linked to the families of a Congress MLA and a BJP MP.Kyathi Climate Modification Consultants LLP counts Krishi PK, son of Congress legislator Prakash Koliwad, as its chief mentor, while Arun Karjol, son of BJP Lok Sabha member Govind M Karjol, is its designated partner.The firm had earlier conducted cloud seeding trials across Haveri district in July, with six legislators — Koliwad among them — footing the bill. It subsequently sought state govt permission to expand operations across Karnataka.Following a discussion on the drought situation, the cabinet cleared Rs 28.5 crore for the programme. The water resources department then approached the finance department for exemption from tender norms under Section 4(g) of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements Act, 1999. The exemption was granted, with a rider that the department ensure quality services from the firm. Chief minister DK Shivakumar holds the finance portfolio.Water resources minister N Cheluvarayaswamy last week said the operations would begin in Sept and run for nearly 60 days across all four revenue divisions. The state is grappling with a 31% rainfall deficit, with 175 of 240 taluks recording deficient rain and 102 declared drought-hit.Cheluvarayaswamy said the decision was taken to “effectively tackle the prevailing rainfall deficit and pre-empt possible water scarcity across the state.”Meanwhile, Koliwad distanced himself from any conflict of interest, telling TOI he had cut ties with the firm in 2022 — before entering active politics and winning the Ranebennur seat in 2023.“We hired Kyathi Climate Modification Consultants as my constituency and others in our district are facing a rainfall deficit,” he said. “We bore the expenses of cloud seeding conducted for three days in July. Now, the govt has selected the firm for cloud seeding in the state.”
