BENGALURU: An RTI query by a city-based civic activist on the guidelines for choosing ward committee members has evoked a shockingly evasive answer from BBMP — to look up the list of members on the Palike website.
The RTI application was filed by Kathyayini Chamaraj, executive trustee at CIVIC. Another query was to provide a “list of applicants, their qualifications, years of social service and the relative merit ranking for selecting them.” To this, the Palike said the nodal officer of every ward should be contacted for this information.
In a Facebook post, Kathyayini said, “...the reply provided by the BBMP Council Secretary’s office to the questions show that no application of mind has gone into it.”
Out of about 500 citizens who had applied to be part of the ward committees, only five had been selected, leading to an outcry among citizens.