It has been 90 days since the Right to Information Act came into force in the country and the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) is working hard to find ways to shroud vital information from public scrutiny.
To make the matters worse, the BMP officials told this websites newspaper that now they are being told by the mayor not to talk much even to the media.
We are pulled up by the mayor if we are quoted in the media on technical issues regarding the infrastructure and city governance. Officials are told to give information and opinions only to the Mayor's office, said a bureaucrat.
Most glaring example of information blockage is happening around the asset declaration by the councillors. The applications under RTI seeking information on councillors' assets are being referred to BMP legal cell which is seen as a ploy to delay.
The Mayor Mumtaz Begum defends the move saying that since it is matter concerning the provisions of KMC Act, disclosure of information on the councillor's assets needs a legal opinion.
On the other hand the BMP has not sent the copies of asset declaration to Raj Bh avan though the governor's office had asked for them. Raj Bhavan had given a two-week ultimatum to the BMP in November last year to send the details of asset declarations and the BMP sent just a letter saying that all the councillors have submitted the declarations. The civic body did not report whether the declarations were in order.
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