Hyderabad: An official of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) responsible for supervising the transportation of the Praja Palana application forms was suspended on Tuesday, January 9, for his alleged negligence in performing his duty.
GHMC Commissioner Ronald Rose suspended M Mahender, Superintendent, Tax Section, GHMC, circle 3—Hayathnagar, after it was discovered that the application forms were mishandled and ended up on a public road during transportation by the Data Entry Agency.
The development unfolded following a viral video that sparked doubts about the handling of Praja Palana forms in the state.
Praja Palana forms were found on the road in Balanagar when they were reportedly being transported by the data agency.
Seeing the Praja Palana forms meant for various schemes in Telangana, people gathered and started asking for details. However, the youth were reluctant to provide proper information.
Netizens’ react
Netizens started raising concerns about the mishandling of Praja Palana forms in the state.
BRS leader Krishank posted the video and alleged that it is a serious data threat. He also questioned, ‘Why are people getting anonymous phone calls asking for OTPs?’
Another netizen shared a photograph of Praja Palana forms kept in a cafe and questioned, ‘Praja Palana applications or waste papers? Who is accountable?’
Under the Praja Palana, over 1.25 crore application forms were submitted in the entire state of Telangana. Out of them, 13.7 lakh are from Hyderabad alone.
After the program’s conclusion on January 6, the state government initiated the online application upload process, setting a deadline of January 17.
