Mangaluru: Lokayukta officials on Wednesday, September 9, conducted surprise inspections at six gram panchayat offices in Puttur, Sullia and Belthangady taluks of Dakshina Kannada in connection with a suo motu case registered at the Lokayukta central office.
The inspections were carried out as part of an inquiry into the functioning of gram panchayats and to identify deficiencies in their administration. Officials visited the offices without prior notice and examined various aspects of their functioning.
Six gram panchayats inspected
The gram panchayats inspected by the Lokayukta teams were Uppinangady and Nekkilaady in Puttur taluk, Kalmadka and Guthigar in Sullia taluk, and Ujire and Laila in Belthangady taluk.
The inspections covered gram panchayat offices across three taluks, with officials taking note of shortcomings and deficiencies observed during their visits.
The surprise checks were conducted under the guidance of B P Dinesh Kumar, superintendent of police, Karnataka Lokayukta, Mangaluru division.
Officials from three Lokayukta units take part
Officials from the Mangaluru, Karwar and Udupi Lokayukta units participated in the inspections.
The team included Dr Gana P Kumar, deputy superintendent of police, Mangaluru Lokayukta unit, along with Suresh Kumar P and police inspector Bharathi G.
Dhanya Nayak, deputy superintendent of police, Karwar Lokayukta unit, and police inspector Ravi N N were also part of the inspection teams.
From the Udupi Lokayukta unit, Hala Murthy Rao V S, deputy superintendent of police, and police inspector Manjunath participated in the inspections along with other staff members.
The coordinated inspections enabled officials from different Lokayukta units to visit the selected gram panchayat offices and assess their functioning.
Deficiencies noted during inspections
During the surprise visits, Lokayukta officials inspected the six gram panchayat offices and took note of deficiencies identified at the respective offices.
The inspections were conducted in connection with the suo motu case registered at the Lokayukta central office. The officials examined the functioning of the local administrative bodies and recorded the shortcomings observed during the checks.
The Lokayukta has not yet publicly detailed the specific deficiencies identified at each of the six gram panchayats.
Officials will now prepare a report based on the findings of the inspections. The report will contain details of the shortcomings identified during the visits and will be submitted to the Lokayukta central office for further consideration.
Report to be submitted to central office
The surprise inspections are part of the Lokayukta’s oversight role in examining the functioning of public institutions and local government bodies.
Following the inspections, the officials are expected to compile their observations and submit them to the central office. Further action, if any, will be based on the findings and recommendations contained in the report.
The inspections across Uppinangady, Nekkilaady, Kalmadka, Guthigar, Ujire and Laila gram panchayats have brought the functioning of the local bodies under scrutiny. The detailed report from the Lokayukta teams is expected to provide the central office with a consolidated assessment of the deficiencies found during the surprise checks.