BENGALURU: In the first two months of this year, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) paid Rs 2.35 lakh in compensation to petitioners, besides fines to the Karnataka High Court, in connection with just 10 cases. Reason: Delay on the part of BDA officials in complying with court directives when disposing of writ petitions filed against it.
The fines paid this year to individuals range from Rs 10,000 to a maximum of Rs 50,000.A senior official told The New Indian Express, “BDA has already remitted the amount to whoever we need to pay it to. However, we realise it is happening regularly. We have decided that officials responsible for the delay in compliance need to pay BDA the amount from their own pockets. This method should stop any delays from our side.”BDA Commissioner HR Mahadev held a discussion with top officials on Wednesday evening to address the issue, and a decision was taken to focus on dealing with court matters next week.
According to another senior official, a total of 7,000 cases have been slapped on BDA by the public, both serious and frivolous ones. The cases cover numerous issues, including loss of sites due to denotification, inadequate infrastructure in its flats and dissatisfaction with compensation allocated for loss of land.
An official with BDA’s legal cell said, “The huge shortage of manpower in the BDA and various other jobs officials need to carry out is the key reason for their inability to comply with the court’s directives.” The fact that the fine amounts are not very high for an organisation like BDA, was also a reason why implementation was not taken seriously, another official said.