Plot thickens in bribery-for-promotion case at UDD

Months after a senior Urban Development Department official was suspended over receiving bribes to promote BBMP officials, another complaint of irregularities in promotions has reached the chief secretary.

The UDD set up a departmental promotion committee (DPC) in November 2020 to promote ‘A’ group employees in the BBMP. Later, Karnataka Rashtra Samiti (KRS) wrote to the Chief Minister that the UDD officials demanded
Rs 2 crore from the BBMP engineers to recommend for promotions.

“Following the complaint, Elisha Andrews, a KAS senior-scale officer in the post of deputy secretary, was recommended for suspension by UDD Additional Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh.

However, when looked into the matter, it has been found that the file in question was not signed by Andrews,” the KRS said in a fresh complaint, alleging interference by undersecretary N K Lakshmisagar.

The November 2020 order states that only officials in the joint/additional secretary level can be made member secretary of DPC.

KRS alleged that Lakshmisagar signed proceedings of a DPC meeting held to promote assistant engineers to assistant executive engineers.

“The then deputy secretary Elisha Andrews was shown as ‘officer on outside duty’ (OOD) on that day though he was present in another DPC meeting of the UDD,” KRS deputy chairman Lingegowda S H stated.

The outfit demanded action against Lakshmisagar for making “false” entries and for conniving to ensure that the deputy secretary was at work and on OOD on the same
day.

Documents available with DH show that Lakshmisagar signed the proceedings of a DPC meeting held on May 24, 2022, to promote assistant executive engineer to executive engineer.

Untenable posting

The complaint said deputing Lakshmisagar, tahsildar-grade officer to the post of undersecretary, as UDD undersecretary was untenable. As per the cadre and recruitment rules, only KAS junior scale (assistant commissioner grade) officials are eligible for the post. Even otherwise, a deputy officer continuing in a post beyond three years was against the rules, the KRS said.

UDD Additional Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh said he was not aware of the letter. “I wasn’t in the department when (Lakshmisagar) was deputed,” he said, promising action.