Minister S Suresh Kumar has set an ambitious target for the bureaucrats: catapulting Bengaluru Urban from the last position to a place in top 10 in implementing the Sakala programme by November. 

Kumar, who holds the primary and secondary education portfolio, is also in charge of the Sakala programme in Karnataka. The Sakala programme guarantees a host of citizen services within a stipulated time frame. Currently, Bengaluru Urban is the worst performer among the 30 districts of Karnataka in the implementation of the Sakala programme. 

Kumar reviewed the progress of the Sakala programme at the Bengaluru Urban deputy commissioner’s office on Monday. Speaking to reporters later, he said: “From here on, the progress of the programme will be reviewed every month and a district-wise ranking will be prepared. By November-end, Bengaluru Urban district should be in top 10.” 

The minister acknowledged that some officials lacked a knowledge of the Sakala programme and stressed the need to train them through workshops. 

Kumar reeled off statistics about the Sakala programme. A total of 63,90,648 applications were received in seven years since the launch of the programme. While 63,40,199 applications were disposed of, there were at least 348 default cases. Default cases refer to those cases in which officers concerned fail to provide the service at least seven times.