CMDA engineer, bizman booked for Rs 87 L revenue loss to govt

CHENNAI: Officials of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) have booked Srinivasa Rao, a superintending engineer with CMDA, and P Senthil Kumar, a businessman, under the Prevention of Corruption Act for causing a loss of Rs 87 lakh to the government exchequer by colluding with the businessman.

The CMDA which manages the Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex (KWMC) had floated tenders for sale of unsold shops in July 2019.

Based on the Rao’s recommendation, a shop measuring 1,061 sq ft, and 201 sq ft of courtyard in Periyar Vegetable market, was sold to Kumar for Rs 18,750 per sq ft (total value Rs 2.18 crore) for building a restaurant. However, a sale deed was executed in favour of Kumar, marking the space for a vegetable market instead of a restaurant. Police investigations revealed that Kumar took possession of the property and converted the shop into 11 small shops and has been running vegetable business there. The Field Measurement Book (FMB) sketch and annexure of the market value for the shops show that the sq ft rates were different for regular shops and vegetable shops, depending on the location. The price comparison reveals that there was a difference of over Rs 86.87 lakh. This fully contradicts the procedures adopted for fixing rates to shops by the CMDA, thereby causing revenue loss to the government exchequer.

Rao, who was entrusted with the property in his capacity as a public servant, is alleged to have committed an offence of criminal breach of trust by allotting the property as ‘vegetable market’, (instead of a restaurant) to facilitate Kumar.

Rao, after fixing the auction price, had issued the allotment order changing the shop as vegetable market, which actually had the outright sale value of Rs 26,250 per sq ft, the DVAC said.