GBA to audit rejected e-khata applications after employees protest

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao on Tuesday announced an audit of e-khata rejections following complaints from citizens that their applications were turned down despite submitting all required documents. The review, the GBA chief said, would examine whether e-khatas were being denied without valid reasons. “The government introduced e-khata to simplify the process for citizens. Any hurdles faced by the public in obtaining these documents will be addressed,” Mr. Rao said. The announcement came amid protests by the GBA Municipal Officers’ and Employees’ Welfare Association, who held a candlelight vigil against the suspension of two officials- Deputy Commissioner of Bommanahalli Zone D.K. Babu and revenue officer Varalakshmi. The officials were suspended by Special Commissioner (Revenue) Munish Moudgil, reportedly for dereliction of duty in issuing e-khatas. However, sources said that the suspensions came in the wake of several cases where e-khata applications have been rejected without valid reasons, causing inconvenience to the public. Such rejections run into thousands, the sources said. There has been a tug of war between the revenue officers on the ground and the top GBA leadership over e-khata issues. While citizens and senior GBA officials attribute several rejections to corruption, revenue officers on the ground said they were being targeted by an impractical system. Efforts to remove subjectivity from the system have been opposed. The association president A. Amrut Raj said, “Revenue employees were being harassed by Special Commissioner (Revenue) Munish Moudgil, even as they remain overburdened with khata-related work.” He said the association had raised the issue with the GBA Chief Commissioner and demanded that the suspensions be revoked. He added that employees were considering mass leave and work stoppages if their concerns were ignored. Mr. Moudgil was not available for comment. Mr. Rao, responding to the grievances, assured that he would look into the concerns raised by the employees. Published - December 23, 2025 09:36 pm IST

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