BENGALURU: Revenue Minister Krishna Byregowda on Friday took officials to task for not resolving pending dispute cases in sub-divisional officers’ courts. “Officials don’t find elections to be a hindrance when making money, but for public service, they use them as an excuse,” the minister told assistant commissioners, adding that they use the excuse of election duty to avoid clearing pending dispute cases in courts.
“People visit AC courts repeatedly. We have been conducting meetings across the state for the past year, setting targets for all officials to resolve such cases. But since March, the pace has slowed again,” he said.
Byregowda held a video-conference with selected ACs and zonal commissioners from Mandya, Chikkaballapur, Chikkamagaluru, Tumakuru, Koppal, Mysuru, Mangaluru and Belagavi districts. The minister told them that cases were being disposed of quickly till March, but has stalled since then. When asked, they say it is because of election duty, he added, lashing out at officials.
According to a release from the Revenue Department, AC courts across the state have 36,430 cases pending. Of these, the Bengaluru North zone has the highest number of 5,419 cases, followed by the Bengaluru South zone with 4,351 cases. “Also, officials in the two zones have registered over 65% of cases that fall outside their jurisdictions. Cases are being resolved at a snail’s pace,” Byregowda said.
Pointing his ire at Bengaluru North division officer Pramod Patil and Bengaluru South division officer Rajanikant Chauhan, he asked them, “You have registered cases outside your jurisdictions illegally. How much money did you take to do this?” He also warned them, “If we speak politely, it doesn’t get through to you. It seems we need to respond in your language.”
Byregowda directed Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar Kataria to issue notices and take strict action against officials not resolving pending cases in AC courts.