Officials Tight-lipped on ATI Scam Report

Indian Express: Mysuru: Monday, 15 December 2014.

Even as the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led State government is claiming that it is focusing on transparency, bureaucrats seem to have no regard for the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Neither Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee nor Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) Secretary Ramana Reddy are ready to reveal the details of the action in connection with the alleged `100 crore scam in Administrative Training Institute (ATI), Mysore.

The two were not ready to disclose under the RTI Act if Additional Chief Secretary Amita Prasad gave a reply to a show-cause notice sought.

Both Mukherjee and Reddy passed the buck to each other when Express contacted them asking if Amita replied to a show-cause notice on the alleged irregularities.

“I cannot reveal about Amita Prasad’s reply because so many people are asking so many questions. It is better if the issue is handled by one person. So, I will ask the Chief Secretary to speak about it,” Reddy said.

“I will tell you about it when I have the file on my table. It is with DPAR. So ask him. I cannot handle all these issues. DPAR Secretary will handle it,” was Mukherjee’s reaction when Express tried to reach out to him.

When Express sought a copy of the report submitted by Additional Chief Secretary T M Vijaya Bhaskar on the alleged irregularities, Mukherjee directed Ramana Reddy to provide it.

However, Under Secretary to DPAR C A Gayathri passed the buck to ATI, RDPR and Urban Development Department though the department is in possession of the records.

A bureaucrat, on condition of anonymity, said both Reddy and Mukherjee are unwilling to take the risk of disclosing T M Vijaya Bhaskar’s report on irregularities and the response to the show-cause notice issued by Reddy on November 10.

The bureaucrat said a copy of the report submitted by Bhaskar was not given to Director General of ATI Rashmi V who unearthed the scam.