T. Sham Bhatt, whose name the government has recommended for the post of chairperson of Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), has been moved out of Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) on Tuesday. Senior IAS officer Dr. Rajkumar Khatri has been posted as the new BDA commissioner replacing Mr. Sham Bhatt.
Sham Bhatt held charge as BDA commissioner for almost four years from August 2012. He is all set to retire by the year-end. The remodification scheme of Arkavathy Layout that ran into troubled waters in the midst of allegations of widespread corruption was one of the biggest controversies to dog the BDA during his stint as commissioner. The issue is presently being probed by the one-man judicial inquiry commission led by H.S. Kempanna.
While the state government has recommended Mr. Bhatt's name for the KPSC chairperson’s post, the Governor returned the file seeking certain clarifications. The Governor had also sought a report from Lokayukta on complaints and cases pending against Mr. Bhatt. The report revealed that there are 18 complaints against him pending inquiry and action was recommended by Lokayukta against him in two earlier cases. However, the government has taken no action against him in either of the cases.
