BBMP faces new ED inquiry over Transferable Development Rights

Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which raided the BBMP office earlier this month in connection with the alleged borewell scam, has launched a fresh investigation into the Transferable Development Rights (TDR) scheme. 

The central agency has now sought details of all Development Rights Certificates (DRCs) issued by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) in the last 20 years. 

The TDR certificate is seen as a notional land issued to the landowner for parting with land for public projects. However, the scheme ran into irregularities due to the circulation of fake TDR certificates. Some DRCs were used multiple times, and in certain instances, the landowner did not relinquish the land, but still received the certificate. 

The civic body has about two weeks to submit the requested details, broken down by zone and year. The directive was issued to the BBMP after an IAS officer from the Yelahanka Zone was summoned for inquiry on January 16. 

Five days after raiding the BBMP office on January 8, the ED had written to the BBMP seeking documents related to the TDR scheme via email, it is learnt. It had also summoned the officers concerned for inquiry. 

During questioning, the ED sought several documents from the BBMP pertaining to the scheme. These include: a list of complaints received against officers related to the TDR scheme in Bengaluru (zonal-wise), along with copies of the complaints from 2005 to the present, and information on any departmental actions taken in response. 

The agency also sought a list of FIRs registered against officers in relation to the TDR scam, along with copies of the FIRs. Additionally, the ED has provided a format — including fields for the DRC number, project name, zone, owner name, TDR value, property details, possession date, and utilisation of the TDR — which the civic body is expected to complete. 

Furthermore, the ED has requested a zonal- and year-wise list of TDRs or DRCs issued by both the BBMP and the BDA since 2005. The agency also asked for details on all officers involved in the implementation of the TDR scheme, including their current whereabouts. 

The BBMP is also required to provide a list of all road-widening projects, the status of those works, and the number of TDRs issued for each project to date.

On Friday, the civic body issued a letter to all zones asking them to share the above mentioned documents at the earliest.