Many of these are reportedly not monitored

The BBMP Accounts Standing Committee has found 416 bank accounts under the names of various Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike officials, many of which are not being monitored.

Committee chairman Netra Narayan said it had sought to know how many accounts were operating under the BBMP, but accounts officers in various zones were not providing them the needed information. “They are not ready to give us a certified copy of how many accounts they have,” said Ms. Narayan, adding, “I am surprised that the BBMP does not know how many accounts exist under it.”

She added that last year there had been more than 600 bank accounts and many were closed, but 416 were still operating. With so many accounts it is difficult to trace expenditure and how much money is deposited in each account, she added. South, East and West zones had the highest number of accounts with close to a hundred accounts to each zone.

The Hindu, in July, reported that the BBMP did not keep centralised records of the number of officials under its roster in various zones, and was in the process of digitising records.