Karnataka: Lax maintenance of registers, no signatures among many irregularities found by Lokayukta in Gram Panchayats

Bengaluru: Lax maintenance of registers, no signatures in cash registers and officers trying to evade investigators were among the findings by a special team of the Karnataka Lokayukta that inspected 18 Gram Panchayat offices in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts.

Lokayukta Justice B S Patil inspected Dasanapura and Adakamaranahalli GPs falling under Bengaluru North taluk.

While Upalokayukta Justice K S Phaneendra inspected Kannur, Mandur, Kasaghattapura and Rajanakunte GPs falling under Bengaluru East and Yelahanka taluks, Upalokayukta Justice B Veerappa inspected Anneshwara, Jalage, Doddatumakuru and Majare Hosahalli GPs falling under Devanahalli and Doddaballapur taluks of Bengaluru Rural district.

"Proper registers are not maintained,” Justice Patil told DH.

“Even cash registers are not duly signed. Some amount is entered but there was no signature of the official. Cash was also discovered — some accounted for and some unaccounted for. They will be given a chance to explain.”

In the Dasanapura Grama Panchayat, when Lokayukta officers were entering for inspection, some officials, including the Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) attempted to run away.

"Before my visit, the SPs, DySPs and judicial officers had gone," Patil said. "When they entered, a couple of officers, including the lady PDO, were running away. They were pulled back and later it was found that two of the officials there were raided previously by Lokayukta, and in one official’s house Rs 28 lakh was recovered," Justice Patil noted.

The Lokayukta officers were given 21 points to inspect in Gram Panchayat offices.

Among those were not responding to pleas by the public or rejecting them without proper reasoning, releasing money under the Swachh Bharat Mission even though toilets were not constructed by the beneficiaries, keeping khata transfer/registration applications pending or rejecting them without proper reasoning and releasing grants under housing schemes to those ineligible or the ones who already received the grants.