30K buildings got fake certificates, Palike Council told

At least 30,000 buildings have come up with fake commencement certificates (CCs) and occupancy certificates (OCs) in the City while the Town Planning section of the BBMP turned a blind eye to the irregularities, said N R Ramesh, the floor leader in the BBMP Council, on Friday.

Ramesh said, in the last four years, 30,000 buildings came up in the eight zones of the City, which would have fetched at least Rs 1,000 crore, but due to the collusion of the officials in the Town Planning section with the builders, Palike could not get the expected revenue.

Elaborating further, he said between April 2010 and March 2014, the Town Planning section sanctioned building plans for 1,298, of which CCs were issued for 350 buildings, while only 95 buildings were issued OCs, which is an astonishing fact.

Ramesh added that in BBMP’s South Zone alone, 489 building plans were sanctioned, of which 133 buildings were issued CCs, while OCs were issued for 70 buildings. The total revenue was Rs 50.54 crore.

In the North Zone, 809 building plans were sanctioned, while CCs and OCs were issued for 217 buildings and 25 buildings, respectively. The revenue collection through this process was Rs 61.44 crore.

He said there is a rush among government engineers to get posting in BBMP’s Town Planning section. As many as 79 engineers are presently serving in the department, of which 33 are from Public Works Department and government departments other than BBMP.

Ramesh alleged that an engineer serving in the Town Planning section was repatriated to his parent department, but he was spotted in the Town Planning section issuing building plans, CCs and OCs. He sought to know the action taken against the engineer.
DH News Service