New BDA rule on file flow holds up site registrations

Every file in the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) will now be tracked as it moves from one department to another.

G C Prakash, the new BDA commissioner, has ordered all sections in his office to maintain a register on the file movements in order to streamline the functioning of the civic agency.

The new rule has put a temporary stop to the registration of sites allotted by the BDA. When a site allottee turned up for a scheduled registration of the property, BDA officials told him there was an oral order from the commissioner to stop the movement of files from one department to another until further orders. “The process has been postponed. BDA officials said they will reschedule the registration and intimate me accordingly,” the site allottee said.

A few high-ranked BDA officials and some site allottees said the commissioner had also stopped all movements of files in the Tapala (reception and dispatch) section until further orders.

The commissioner defended the decision, clarifying that he had only ordered the officials to maintain a register on the movement of files. “This move is aimed at keeping a digital track of all the files. I received a complaint that files were moved randomly from one department to another. So, I asked them to maintain a register,” Prakash told DH.