Bangalore Mirror: Bangalore: Wednesday, 23rd
September 2026.
Environmentalist says RTI application seeking information on Ballari Road tunnel project has been circulating between civic departments since January 2026 without any response or disclosure received
An application submitted
to the Public Information Officer of Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited (B‑SMILE)
has been circulating among various city corporation departments since January
2026. Under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, authorities are mandated to
furnish requested details within the stipulated time frame, but the response
allegedly remains pending.
The standard time limit to get a reply under the RTI Act, 2005, is 30 days from the date the application is received by the Public Information Officer (PIO).
The application was filed by Dattatreya T Devare, an environmentalist, on January 13, 2026, seeking some documents pertaining to the proposed Ballari Road tunnel project. However, the officer allegedly forwarded the application to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA).
The GBA Public Information Officer wrote letters to personal assistants of Additional Commissioners (Development), Bengaluru North City Corporation, Bengaluru South City Corporation, Bengaluru East City Corporation, Bengaluru West City Corporation, Bengaluru Central City Corporation and the Chief Engineer (Planning and Coordination) of the Greater Bengaluru Authority.
A copy of the letter was sent to Dattatreya T Devare on January 23, 2026. “I used the same copy to send a reminder to the Bengaluru East City Corporation. The Executive Engineer (KR Puram) of BECC wrote a letter to the Assistant Executive Engineer directing him to provide the information sought by me and also forwarded the copy of the letter to me on July 7, 2026. However, I am yet to receive a reply even after two months,” said Devare, adding that he wrote a reminder in the last letter, which kept going from one office to another before returning to him.
Commenting on the delay in providing information, HM Venkatesh of Naija Horatagarara Vedike noted that authorities are supposed to provide information sought by applicants under the RTI Act within a stipulated time.
“They can forward the application to the department concerned if they do not have the information sought by the applicant. Section 6(3) of the RTI Act requires a public authority to transfer an RTI application to another relevant department within five days if the requested information is held by them or relates to their functions,” said Venkatesh.
Environmentalist says RTI application seeking information on Ballari Road tunnel project has been circulating between civic departments since January 2026 without any response or disclosure received
The standard time limit to get a reply under the RTI Act, 2005, is 30 days from the date the application is received by the Public Information Officer (PIO).
The application was filed by Dattatreya T Devare, an environmentalist, on January 13, 2026, seeking some documents pertaining to the proposed Ballari Road tunnel project. However, the officer allegedly forwarded the application to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA).
The GBA Public Information Officer wrote letters to personal assistants of Additional Commissioners (Development), Bengaluru North City Corporation, Bengaluru South City Corporation, Bengaluru East City Corporation, Bengaluru West City Corporation, Bengaluru Central City Corporation and the Chief Engineer (Planning and Coordination) of the Greater Bengaluru Authority.
A copy of the letter was sent to Dattatreya T Devare on January 23, 2026. “I used the same copy to send a reminder to the Bengaluru East City Corporation. The Executive Engineer (KR Puram) of BECC wrote a letter to the Assistant Executive Engineer directing him to provide the information sought by me and also forwarded the copy of the letter to me on July 7, 2026. However, I am yet to receive a reply even after two months,” said Devare, adding that he wrote a reminder in the last letter, which kept going from one office to another before returning to him.
Commenting on the delay in providing information, HM Venkatesh of Naija Horatagarara Vedike noted that authorities are supposed to provide information sought by applicants under the RTI Act within a stipulated time.
“They can forward the application to the department concerned if they do not have the information sought by the applicant. Section 6(3) of the RTI Act requires a public authority to transfer an RTI application to another relevant department within five days if the requested information is held by them or relates to their functions,” said Venkatesh.
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