BMTC officer suspended hours before his retirement

BENGALURU: BC Ganganna Gowda, 60, the chief mechanical engineer of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), who had also managed to reduce the number of bus breakdowns, received the 'suspension pending inquiry' order three hours before his retirement on February 28.

BMTC recorded the least number of breakdowns in the recent past. Gowda, who served at various divisions of KSRTC, took charge as chief mechanical engineer of BMTC in 2017. As per the statistics shown the number of breakdowns reported in BMTC reduced from 54,095 in 2015-16 to 52,750 in 2016-17 and 41,581 in 2017-18. However, he is believed to have faced the wrath of his superiors after he allegedly refused to succumb to pressure from higher-ups in the matters of purchasing electric buses for BMTC, instead of taking them on lease.

Shivayogi C Kalasad, the KSRTC managing director had issued the suspension order, alleging that vehicles were held up at BMTC workshops, which has resulted in huge revenue loss to the corporation. It is also alleged that the vehicles which had been repaired already were again found at the workshops.

Kalasad said they had issued 'suspension pending inquiry' order due to administrative reasons as per the KSRTC (Conduct & Discipline) Rules. "It is not mandatory to serve a show-cause notice before suspension order. But he could challenge the order in the disciplinary committee," he added.

H V Ananth Subbarao, the general secretary of the KSRTC Staff and Workers' Federation, said Gowda was one of the few honest officers with a clean track record. "The charges against him are flimsy. The message is loud and clear. Those who are not corrupt cannot survive in the corporation. Gowda has played a vital role in reducing the number of breakdowns."