BATF downs shutters?

Is it over? The much hyped Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) is shutting shop, despite the state government announcing that all is fine.

The mood at the BATF office on Richmond Town clearly indicates that the staff have started packing their bags. “The staff will not be paid salaries beyond September. The salaries, telephone rentals and power, water tariffs which was borne by Nandan Nilekani, through AdharTrust, will make the last payment for September. The monthly expenditure of Rs 1.8 lakh was borne by the Trust for the last five years. Add the project expenses, various project studies and summits, the expenses touched a whopping Rs 5 crore plus,” sources told The Times of India on Tuesday.

However, BATF chairman and Infosys chief Nandan Nilekani, who arrived here on Tuesday after an overseas tour, refused to comment on the issue. If BATF is out, then the volume of intellectual output and the knowledge bank it created over the years on civic governance may go down the drain.

Times of India