Six years after Justice Nagamohan Das Commission submitted report, BBMP initiates process

Six years after Justice Nagamohan Das Commission submitted a report on financial irregularities in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to the State government, the civic body is now preparing the list of details of the officials and engineers involved in the scam. 

Nearly six years after the Justice Nagamohan Das Commission submitted a report on financial irregularities in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to the State government, the civic body is now preparing the list of details of the officials and engineers involved in the scam. 

This development came after Legislative Council Assurance Committee directed the BBMP to initiate action by preparing list of officials involved in the scam. The committee directed the same after T.A. Sharavana, JD(S) MLC, raised this issue with its members. 

The Nagamohan Das Commission after painstakingly investigating 6,000 different files pertaining to alleged scams that occurred between 2008 and 2012 submitted the report in 2018. The commission also made a few recommendations. It had found alleged involvement of 314 officials in connection to bills that run up to ₹1,500 crore. 

Between 2018 and 2024, the Urban Development Department (UDD) has not initiated any action against errant officials even after activists writing to the UDD seeking details of action. 

Recently, the Legislative Council Assurance Committee directed the BBMP to initiate action after which the civic body woke up. A senior BBMP official said the BBMP is now preparing the list of officials. The BBMP is also generating a separate list of officials who are retired from the services and deceased. The list may be ready in a few days, sources said.

Social activist Amaresh, talking to The Hindu, said while many officials who were indulged in the scam have already retired, a few have died. Many officials have also been transferred out. This exercise may not yield any results even now, he lamented.