JOIN USThe Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has passed an order to keep the press and electronic media at a ‘distance’ from their officials.
An internal order issued by the BBMP and approved by the Palike Commissioner Shankarlinge Gowda states that ‘the officials are hereby directed not to speak to the media without prior consent from the Commissioner of the BBMP.’ The order passed on March 3 refers to officials within the BBMP passing out information to the media on certain issues.
“If any information is divulged henceforth, the Palike will take stringent action against such officials as per the Karnataka Municipal Act (KMC) of 1976,” the order states.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, BBMP Commissioner Shankarlinge Gowda said: “the order has been issued as certain officials have been providing false information, trying to sensationalise certain matters. We are trying to put a stop to this.”
The move to ‘impose curbs’ was considered based on the letter written to the BBMP Commissioner by the ruling party leader, B R Nanjundappa, who expressed concern over Palike officials giving out false information.
When asked, if the order had the intention of keeping the media away from the affairs of the BBMP, Gowda said there will be no curb on the flow of information.
“It is purely to weed out the information which is half baked. There will be people who can respond with complete facts to questions raised on issues in the BBMP,” he said.