Officer shunted thrice in 3 months for refusing illegal khata entry

An official who refused to clear an illegal khata transfer in Bommanahalli in 2016 has been transferred thrice in the past three months while she is due for retirement in March 2018.

The development assumes significance as the investigation into the khata transfer scam in the BBMP is underway. S N Asha was Revenue Officer at Bommanahalli where 64 fake khata transfers were carried out. The scam was unearthed by the Lanchamukta Karnataka Nirmana Vedike (LKNV), an NGO.

When Asha refused to clear an illegal khata transfer in 2016, four officials, including the then deputy commissioner and the joint commissioner, cleared the files, bypassing her. Out of the 64 entries, the computer-generated challans in respect of 33 khatas were fed on July 10, 2016 — a Sunday.

Asha was first transferred on July 11 to Dasarahalli. Within 40 days, on September 13, she was transferred to Basavanagudi and then sent to Yeshwantpur on September 27. Incidentally, two officials involved in the fake khata scam are also working in Yeshwantpur.

The instant case of illegal khata transfers in Bommanahalli was done in June 2016. The complaint filed by the LKNV, along with the documents obtained under the RTI Act, stated that though several disputes were pending before the civil courts, khatas were transferred illegally with respect to a single property. The khata transfers were done to escalate the value of the property and further, the land was developed into a residential layout.

“When the enquiry is pending, Asha is being harassed by being transferred from one place to another. Officials involved in the scam think she shared the information with us. But we got all the documents under the RTI,” V R Marathe, the president of the LKNV, told DH.

A BBMP official said the matter would be brought to the notice of the civic body’s commissioner, N Manjunath Prasad.