Deccan Herald: Bengaluru: Saturday,
August 13, 2016.
Taking
exception to records often going missing in Bangalore Development Authority,
the Karnataka Information Commission has directed the Superintendent of Police
of the BDA’s Special Vigilance Force to investigate and produce a “missing
file” related to a piece of land near Poorna Prajna Layout in Uttarahalli.
This is the
first time since its inception that the Karnataka Information Commission (KIC)
has exercised its special powers under Section 9 (3) of the RTI Act-2005. In
his August 5 order, State Information Commissioner L Krishna Murthy directed
Superintendent of Police K V Jagadish to trace the missing files in two months
and produce them before him during the next hearing on January 5, 2017.
The
11-acre-11-gunta land in Survey Number 81 of Uttarahalli village was initially
reserved for constructing residential quarters for the economically weaker
sections. The BDA refused to utilise the land saying it was a hillock and a
layout cannot be formed there.
Surprisingly,
the same piece of land was later allotted to an educational institution
belonging to an influential politician. It raised many eyebrows.
In this
connection, Wing Commander (Retd) G Balakrishna Athri filed an RTI application
with the BDA on October 17, 2012, seeking details about the acquisition of the
said land.
Speaking to
Deccan Herald, Athri said the land was initially granted for building quarters
for the economically weaker sections residing in the nearby slums.
However, the
BDA gave up the land saying it was a hillock and a residential layout cannot be
developed there.
“Somehow, the
land reached an educational institution said to be belonging to an influential
politician,” said Athri.
Two months
after filing the RTI application in 2012, Athri approached the Karnataka
Information Commission with an appeal to help him get the desired information.
He is yet to get any information, although the commission had imposed a penalty
of Rs 10,000 on a retired assistant commissioner in the BDA and repeatedly
directed the Town Planning member of the BDA to furnish complete information to
the appellant ‘without further delay’.
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