In the wake of collapse of illegal building in Kalupur on Friday, the buzz in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is that the estate and town development department is the most corrupt of all departments.
In the wake of collapse of illegal building in Kalupur on Friday, the buzz in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is that the estate and town development department is the most corrupt of all departments. Many in the AMC's vigilance department can vouch for it as it has received three-fold more complaints against the estate department as against others.
Since April 2010, the vigilance department has received 193 complaints against this department, compared to just 59 against others.
As a result, the civic body has appointed a special vigilance officer to look into the complaints registered against the estate and town development department.
The vigilance department has completed its enquiry into 98 complaints against the department in the current financial year, while 95 complaints are still being investigated. As per information given by the AMC's vigilance department, as on April 1, 2010 there were 209 cases pending in the estate and TDO category. The department has completed its enquiry in 101 cases but 108 cases are still pending.
Deputy municipal commissioner of the estate and town development department Utpal Paida could not be contacted for his comments despite repeated attempts.
Sources in the AMC said there is a politician-official-builder nexus that is shielding the illegal constructions. They say most of the officials who are part of this nexus belong to the estate and town development department.
In some cases, the officials turn a deaf ear to complaints about illegal construction for monetary benefits while in others they are forced to do so by their political masters.
It is a general practice to mark a copy of a complaint against illegal construction to the vigilance department so that necessary action is taken well in advance.
There have been instances where corruption charges against a few estate and town development officials were proven and they were suspended. AMC's former chief town planner Navneet Balewa was caught red-handed taking bribe. The AMC suspended him with immediate effect about one-and-a-half years ago.
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