BENGALURU: Lokayukta, Justice BS Patil, paid a surprise visit to the office of the Deputy Director of Land Records of Bengaluru Urban District at Kandaya Bhavan and also the office of the Assistant Land Records at KR Puram in Bengaluru on Monday evening. His searches followed complaints of large-scale irregularities in land survey offices in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts.
When Justice Patil confronted them, the officials failed to provide satisfactory answers about the total number of applications received for surveys, preparation of 11’E’ sketch (podi) and alienation (for conversion of land) and whether these applications were attended to within the deadline or rejected with valid reasons in the last three months in the office of the Land Records of Bengaluru South and North Taluks and K R Puram taluk.
The Lokayukta set a three-day deadline for the officials to submit details. The Lokayukta is monitoring these issues after the registration of a suo motu case in 2020 on maladministration at survey offices, the sources added.
According to the official statement, aggrieved persons used to draw the Lokayukta’s attention to the harassment at the department office. Receiving a report from the police, the Lokayukta formed 11 teams to conduct raids.
On Monday evening, the teams raided all 11 land survey offices in Bengaluru’s Urban and Rural districts. The officials had not maintained the register to declare the cash the employees are carrying while entering office and the movement register to mention the entry and exit of officials.
The Lokayukta teams recovered over Rs 40,000 from an employee, who failed to give a satisfactory answer as to why he had kept the money without declaring it in the cash register, the sources said.