BENGALURU: Lokayukta Justice P Vishwanatha Shetty has issued a show-cause notice to the Special Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban District on Saturday for failing to respond to previous notices. It is for the first time that the Lokayukta has issued a show-cause notice to a bureaucrat — Special Deputy Commissioner — as he failed to respond to an earlier notice issued by the Lokayukta. The notice was issued to him based on the suo motu proceedings initiated in 2015 for allegedly failing to protect more than 180 acres of government land at B M Kaval in Benglauru South taluk.
In the show-cause notice, the Lokayukta said, “I had directed the Special Deputy Commissioner, Bengaluru Urban District, to be present personally and file status report as directed on January 25, 2018. Inspite of it, no one is present on behalf of him. Under these circumstances, I have no option than to initiate action against the Special Deputy Commissioner for not complying with my directions.”
“I ordered to issue show-cause notice to the Special Deputy Commissioner, Bengaluru Urban District, as to why action, including recommendation under Section 12(3) of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984 for disciplinary proceedings, should not be taken against him,” he said.The Lokayukta directed the Special Deputy Commissioner to be present in person on August 28, 2018, the next date of hearing and submit explanation within three weeks. “Disobedience of directives will also have to be considered as part of maladministration on the part of the officers concerned,” the Lokayukta warned.
The Lokayukta observed that it is the duty of the respondents-officials to protect the public property and any default on that behalf may have to be considered as maladministration within the meaning of Section 2(1) of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984 and action may have to be initiated. It is not permissible to take shelter that there is a pending suit and that an interim order restraining the dispossession is in operation.
Based on the suo-motu proceedings registered by the then Lokayukta on the basis of a petition filed by the Anti Land Grabbing Action Committee, represented by Jayashree, the then Lokayukta initiated the suo motu proceedings on May 8, 2015. In a petition filed by the AT Ramaswamy committee, it was alleged that the land in question was enjoyed by the private persons as the Special Deputy Commissioner failed to conduct enquiry in a proper way.