Bengaluru: As part of its efforts to make Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) more transparent, accountable and citizen-friendly, the agency transferred 10 officials — primarily from its legal department—through an order issued on July 3.Officials said the reshuffle is aimed at curbing corruption by rotating personnel who had remained in the same positions for several years, allegedly allowing vested interests to take root and contributing to delays in decision-making.According to sources, the transfers form part of a broader administrative reform initiative being undertaken by BDA brass. The exercise follows an analysis of complaints received through the public grievance redressal system (PGRS), also known as BDA Sahaya, which was used to identify recurring administrative lapses, policy gaps and systemic bottlenecks.Officials said when the authority opened a structured, round-the-clock grievance mechanism for people, it gained a clearer understanding of where delays were occurring and which departments repeatedly generated complaints. “When every grievance is recorded and tracked, the organisation begins to understand its own shortcomings,” an official said.Sources said the legal department emerged as one of the areas requiring intervention. Officials who had occupied the same positions for several years were allegedly able to build networks that delayed file movement. They also said if legal notices or court summons are not promptly processed or placed before senior officials, cases could go uncontested, resulting in adverse orders against the authority.The recent order follows an earlier round of internal transfers. Instead of seeking external postings, BDA chose to reshuffle employees within the organisation to immediately move them out of long-held positions. Officials believe fresh postings will reduce the influence built over years in sensitive sections while enabling new officers to clear pending files without legacy pressures.While department heads had become more accountable through regular reviews and open house meetings, the same culture had not filtered down to the lower levels where files originate and move, sources said.BDA wins national recognitionBDA’s public grievance redressal system has received PRCI Award for Transformative Governance. The award recognises the authority’s efforts to use technology and citizen feedback to improve governance and make public services more transparent. The award will be presented at a ceremony in New Delhi on Aug 1.Under the grievance system, complaints are digitised at the time of submission, assigned a tracking number and given a time-bound deadline for resolution. While general queries are resolved within 24 hours and routine cases within seven days, complex inter-departmental issues are taken up at open house meetings. Officials said the meetings bring all departments onto a single platform, helping resolve long-pending cases, including disputes that had remained unresolved for decades.
