BBMP lost Rs 500 cr as businesses were undertaxed, says ACB

The BBMP suffered a loss of Rs 500 crore because its revenue department undertaxed or failed to appropriately tax big companies and commercial establishments, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says.

The anti-graft agency claims to have unearthed a "massive scam" in the civic body after conducting surprise raids on dozens of BBMP offices. In particular, ACB officers have been scrutinising documents in revenue, engineering and transferable development rights (TDR) departments.

Explaining the Rs 500-crore revenue loss, an ACB official said the BBMP failed to collect appropriate taxes from many MNCs, malls and apartment complexes. In many cases, BBMP officials bent the rules to grossly undertax these establishments, the official added.

What's more, occupancy certificates (OCs) were "illegally" issued to a number of large buildings and establishments, depriving the exchequer of substantial revenue, according to the official.

An OC is a document issued by local authorities to show that a building is fit for occupation and has been constructed in accordance with the approved plan and the relevant rules.

The BBMP's engineering department created fake bills. For example, multiple bills were generated for a single work or bills were paid for work that never took place.

"In some places, the work was done without following the rules laid down in the tender. Despite the violations, large amounts were sanctioned for paying the bills," the official said.

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