Sir,

The recent revelations of large-scale irregularities within the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) are alarming, yet sadly, not entirely surprising.

The ongoing investigations have highlighted how a lack of transparency can allow corruption to flourish unchecked. This situation serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for reform within MUDA’s operations.

Over two years ago, I wrote to Star of Mysore advocating for public online access to MUDA’s records, maps,  layout plans and other critical documents.

Unfortunately, the resistance to this transparency has only deepened the opacity within which these irregularities                    have thrived.

Unlike the Revenue Department, where most records  are publicly accessible, obtaining basic information from MUDA often requires multiple visits, persistence and sometimes, undue influence.

To restore public trust and prevent future scandals of this magnitude, it is imperative that the government implements a system that makes all MUDA-related decisions, approvals, plans and allotments available online.

This would not only enable public to verify the integrity of MUDA’s operations but also discourage the misuse of power by making all actions visible to public scrutiny.

As the Russian proverb goes, “Trust, but verify.” However, in MUDA’s case, the public has been forced to trust blindly without any straightforward means of verification. If the government is serious about cleaning up this mess and preventing a recurrence, transparency must be at the heart of any reform.

I urge the authorities to bring MUDA’s operations into the light by providing unrestricted public access to its records. Only then can we ensure that such massive irregularities do not happen again.

– Vasanth Manickam, Bogadi, 23.8.2024

Note: Unrestricted public access to MUDA records is not transparency. Knowing the public psychology, it may lead to selective blackmail and extortion.

However, thanks to UPA Government under Sonia Gandhi and an NGO, Ms. Aruna Roy, IAS, then member, National Advisory Council (India), we have today a powerful weapon to get transparency through RTI Act which replaced the bogus Freedom to Information Act. It is only because of RTI Act this MOST sinister corruption in MUDA could be exposed. Otherwise the whole scam would have been buried  deep in the fathomless sea of corruption.—Ed

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