BENGALURU: The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) on Tuesday launched a week-long training programme for its staff on administrative reforms and public grievance redressal.
Inaugurating it, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the government is committed to making BDA more citizen-centric. He urged BDA staff to change their style of functioning and shed the perception of being associated with real estate deals and brokerage. Noting that BDA will complete its 50th year of inception on January 17, he said transformation must begin with the golden jubilee celebrations.
He said, “Even the most intelligent should keep learning. We have moved from calculators to computers and now to Artificial Intelligence. Even land surveys can now be done through drones.”
Shivakumar said that it took him six months to understand office malpractices through intelligence inputs. “That is why I have decided to digitise and scan all records. A small section of the employees may be uncomfortable, but it is giving the entire BDA a bad name,” he said.
Calling BDA and GBA the real face of Bengaluru, he said discipline, integrity and solution-oriented attitude are essential for the employees to make Bengaluru a global city. He said to mark the golden jubilee of BDA, the government intends to leave a lasting institutional legacy by ensuring transparency.
Referring to Bengaluru’s unplanned growth, he said the government has a plan to start a town-planning college in the city. Better urban planning is needed across Karnataka. On the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project, he said the delay in land acquisition led to cost escalation. The government has offered compensation options to landowners. “During my tenure as Bengaluru Development Minister, not even an inch of notified land for PRR will be denotified,” he said.