BENGALURU: Believe it or not. A Second Division Assistant (SDA) has been running the show solely in Kolar Urban Development Authority (KUDA), around 70 km from Bengaluru, for the past several years with no other staffers, including the commissioner. This is the reason KUDA has failed to make use of the available income to provide infrastructure to residents of Sri Devaraj Urs Layout formed by it 26 years ago.
This is one of the major findings in the report, dated June 4, 2022, submitted to Lokayukta Justice BS Patil by the police wing. The report states that except for the SDA, all other posts, such as commissioner, land acquisition officer, assistant executive engineer, accountant, superintendent of accounts, data entry operator, first division assistant and others, are vacant. The only officer of another department, who is working as in-charge commissioner, has failed to provide infrastructure to the layout, the report added.
The layout, formed in 1994-95 and spread across 121 acres 3 guntas, is situated next to the National Highway-75 near Tamaka village. In all, 1,426 sites were distributed after providing facilities like kutcha roads and drains with culverts. But it was found that some sites, including corner ones, were being sold recklessly. KUDA has utterly failed to provide basic infrastructure, like drinking water, proper road, electricity, drainage, garbage disposal and underground drainage to 148 houses in the layout, it said.
The Lokayukta police said that KUDA, which has Rs 8.71 crore balance at present, is expecting revenues of Rs 69.03 crore in the current fiscal. It is necessary to appoint a permanent commissioner, technical staff and others to make use of resources and hand over the layout with proper infrastructure to the city municipal council. Justice Patil, initiating suo motu proceedings based on the investigation report following a petition filed by the Sri Devaraj Urs Layout Residents’ Welfare Association, sought an explanation from the Urban Development Department secretary and KUDA commissioner.