PUNE, June 3: During the month of March and April 1998, Arun Bhatia, divisional commissioner in his capacity as chairman of the divisional corruption eradication committee issued several notices to investigate violations of development control rules and FSI usage by hotels in Pune.One wonders what occurred as a fallout of these notices and how the hoteliers' and builders' lobbies are getting ready to combat this. His positive actions are commendable in the days when investigations are quashed in the interest of the lobby pressure.
It is sincerely hoped that investigations and corrective actions against these violations are proceeding unhindered in the right direction and the files have not been confined to some rubbish heap, to be forgotten soon.Earlier, he had lent a sympathetic ear to pressures applied by citizens' groups to withdraw the Regional Transport Authority's petition against the six-seater rickshaws, a popular mode of transport.
Pune is indeed fortunate to have such a bureaucrat as Arun Bhatia, whose earlier track record as an honest and upright officer has always forced politicians in power to hurriedly transfer him before the end of the mandatory tenure of three years.
Let us hope that he is not the victim of interest groups once again in Pune and is allowed to complete his three year tenure here in the best interest of the revenue division.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
