It wasted money on malls, went ahead with work without permission, an RTI group has alleged.
The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has wasted tax payers’ money to construct commercial complexes at community amenity (CA) and vacant sites in the city, without getting permission from the Infrastructure Development Department (IDD), alleged Jayaprakash Vichara Vedike (JVV), a city-based group of RTI activists.
Interestingly, the BDA Employees Association filed a series of complaints with chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda, seeking a probe by Criminal Investigation Department (CID) into financial irregularities involving the plan, but remedial action was not taken.
The BDA also issued a work order without consulting the IDD and spent crores of rupees on preliminary work and later sent a proposal to the latter for a clearance. The IDD rejected the proposal on October 24, 2011, following which the BDA withdrew the work order.
“This reflects gross negligence on the part of the BDA, which resulted in a huge loss of tax payers’ money,” JVV president BM Shiva Kumar alleged, adding that the BDA’s move is to help realtors and politicians.
“Instead of expanding Janata Bazar and local markets, which serve the middle class, the government is helping private builders by sanctioning CA sites for the construction of malls,” he alleged.
Several ruling party MLAs filed representations with the chief minister not to allow malls within the city due to an increase in traffic congestion; but the government is going ahead with the plan to support vested interests, he alleged.
The group of RTI activists demanded the state government to withdraw the proposed plan to build malls at Malleswaram, Seshadripuram and KR Puram markets to help local markets and small traders flourish.
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