Pernambut bus stand: Revenue officials, police to submit report on controversy

Vellore

Revenue and police officials will submit a report on the controversial Pernambut bus stand issue following an inconclusive meeting involving all parties on Wednesday.

The issue relates to private persons (brokers) building the new bus stand at Sathgar panchayat despite vociferous objection by members of the bus stand retrieval committee.

As DT Next highlighted a few days ago, the aim of the construction was to sell plots adjoining the bus stand as buyers have reportedly said they would register their land only when the facility became operational.

The meeting was attended by ADSP Mathivanan, Gudiyattam DSP Saravanan, Pernambut Tahsildar Gopi, Pernambut commissioner Nityanandam and retrieval committee member G Suresh Kumar, Pernambut consumer protection and welfare committee president T Basheeruddin, Congress state women’s wing vice president R Krishnaveni and local VIP Nattamkar Akbar.

Retrieval committee members repeatedly said no existing government rule permitted private persons to build on government land. If they so desired, they had to hand over the funds to the local body which would then follow rules to construct the facility. When police and revenue officials were in favour of acting according to rules, Nityanandam said he was acting based on a Government Order but refused to either name or show it. Finally, when he mentioned the name of local minister KC Veeramani, officials visibly lost interest.

Nityanandam also said he was acting at the behest of the Vellore Collector and the local Regional Director of Municipal Administration (RDMA). Revenue officials who were recording the proceedings refused to include this portion despite insistence of retrieval committee members.

The Vellore Collector Shanmuga Sundram meanwhile said he was not consulted on the issue at all. Suresh Kumar said that brokers involved were openly saying that they did not care if the bus stand was demolished once the plots were registered.

Nityanandam refused to answer queries directly at the meet but repeatedly went out to phone ‘officials’.

The question public ask is why top officials are mum on the issue despite officials openly flouting all known rules and norms.