Horticulture dept of Karnataka lied on profits: RTI activist

Bengaluru:  A city advocate, Umesh Kumar, has filed a complaint with the Lokayukta against principal secretary of the horticulture department, Rajeev Chawla and other officers for giving false information on the profits  made by Lalbagh and Nandi Hills between 2013 and 2016 in response to his RTI application.

Mr Kumar said  in his complaint that when crores had been sanctioned for the development of these two tourism spots,  the department claimed Lalbagh had made a profit of mere Rs 2 lakh a year in the period mentioned.

“There is some mischief in the creation of documents  in the horticulture department. Also, the RTI response, which was supposed to be given within 30 days, took two- and- a- half months instead,” he added.

Speaking to the Deccan Chronicle, the advocate claimed he had later received a call from the Lalbagh department saying crores had been written incorrectly as lakhs in the response to his RTI application.

"If they type three lakhs instead of Rs 3 crores once it is a mistake. How can the mistake be repeated through the entire document? Why are they providing wrong information? Where are the profits actually going?" he demanded.

Also finding it hard to believe the response to his RTI query that the Nandi Hills ,  a popular tourist spot, had made a mere Rs 1 crore profit each year since 2013, the advocate said, " If Lalbagh can earn in crores, Nandi Hills, which is a famous tourist spot, should earn much more."