BENGALURU: Irrespective of their party affiliations, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) councillors on Saturday said they will not disclose their assets and liabilities before the Lokayukta.
Speaking at the BBMP Council meeting, they termed the Karnataka Municipal Council to be higher and more powerful than the Lokayukta.
The councillors unanimously voiced their concern against a query from the Lokayukta.
A complaint has been filed in the Lokayukta against the councilors for not disclosing their assets and liabilities before the Lokayukta, to which they said they have disclosed their details before the Karnataka Municipal Council and there was no need to disclose them once again.
They also said it was now for the government to take a decision.
“If the government thinks the details are not proper and are not satisfied with what is presented before the KMC, the government can take action against us,” the councillors said.
They also demanded that the complaint filed before the Lokayukta be cancelled.
“The assets and liabilities of each councillor is uploaded on the websites for people to see. There is nothing to hide and nothing to show. The Lokayukta does not have the powers to take details of Palike members and in 2016, the state election commission had directed that details be submitted to the KMC and state government which has been done. The KMC has been approved by the state and Central governments and even the President of India,” the councillors said.
They also pointed out, “As per the Lokayukta Act, inquiry and action can be taken against those who get more than Rs 20,000 salary. But the councillors get an honorarium of Rs 8,000 and so we do not fall under the Lokayukta’s purview.”
Reacting to this, BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad said he had consulted the matter with the legal team of the BBMP.
But more details were required and the matter will again be discussed with legal experts before any decision is taken, he added.
‘TDR scam bigger than 2G one’
Councillors on Saturday said the transfer of developmental rights (TDR) scam allegedly involving Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) engineers is bigger than the 2G scam. At the BBMP Council meeting, the councillors demanded an Anti-Corruption Bureau inquiry into the matter.
Councillor Padmanabha Reddy said, “The TDR scam is worse than the 2G scam and the government and Council should address it.”
“The engineers joined hands with builders and showed that these lands fall under CBD areas,” the councillors said. BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad said on option is an inquiry could be handed over to the ACB as they suggested.
The second is to form a committee under the mayor, the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties and special commissioner (project) to look into the issue.
The councillors agreed to the second option, but said if results were not satisfactory then the matter should be handed over to the ACB.