More state officials caught in TDR fraud

The transferable development rights (TDR) scam in BBMP seems to be getting bigger by the day, with investigating officials set to file additional FIRs in connection with the case. With the role of more government officials surfacing, ACB will write to the state government seeking permission to file FIRs against them.

Additional FIRs — regarding the multi-crore scam that occurred since the TDR scheme was introduced in 2006 — are likely to be filed during the week. Meanwhile, the ACB has sought relevant documents from both the BBMP and BDA on the number of TDRs issued by the civic agencies.

“Soon after the scam was unearthed, several individuals approached us with similar complaints. Indications are that the magnitude of the scam will increase from the initial estimates of Rs 700-800 crore, as more cases are being registered by the ACB,” sources said.

ACB sources told DH that methods employed by scamsters to inflate TDR values were also discovered during the investigation. The TDR value, which is calculated by ascertaining the cost of the building lost during any development project and guidance value of the corresponding land, was inflated by changing either the cost of the building or guidance value or both.

“Investigation also hints at possibilities of a single development rights certificate (DRCs) being sold multiple times in different zones of the city to benefit certain individuals,” sources said. Such fraud was encouraged by the fact that DRCs did not have a ‘time-locking’ period.

Along with it, the delay in the scheme only increased the scope of the scam, according to officials.

While irregularities unearthed by officials are in connection with the outer ring road (ORR) project, they suspect that similar methods were employed during land acquisition for Bengaluru Metro and other infrastructure projects in the city.

Sources said that BDA, which was entrusted with rectifying unused TDR in 2015, was still sitting on 109 DRC files.