COIMBATORE: A city-based realtor alleged that the city corporation has not handed over the original copy of final layout plan approval despite paying all the fees months ago.
He alleged though approval has been granted by the civic body and he possessed a copy of it, the original was not being given as corporation authorities were demanding bribe for it.
He has sent a petition to the corporation commissioner, chief secretary and Directorate of Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) seeking their intervention in the issue.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, B Somasundaram said that he along with his associates had planned to develop a layout on 62.38 acres at Kalapatti in the east zone of the corporation limit.
“Shortly after I applied for the plan approval, Town Planning Officer (TPO) and Assistant Town Planning Officer (ATPO) inspected the land in July 2019 and asked me to pay Rs 52 lakh as arrear tax and Rs 3.60 crore as future maintenance charge.
We paid the pending tax amount,’’ he said.
Somasundaram said though future maintenance charge was not collected in other corporations, he paid it as the project was getting delayed.
“I had paid Rs 3.6 crore future maintenance charge and Rs 47 lakh UGD deposit on April 30, 2021,’’ he said.
Somasundaram alleged that a senior corporation officer had demanded a bribe of Rs 2.5 crore to provide the original approval copy.
When contacted, then corporation commissioner Kumaravel Pandian, who is now the collector of Vellore district, refuted the allegations.
He said that approval was not granted for Somasundaraman’s layout at all.
“When we were about to issue the final approval, three people had raised objections against the project.
So, the process was put on hold,” he said.
Present corporation commissioner Raja Gopal Sunkara said he had received the complaint and was perusing the documents.
“We are analyzing the documents.
Steps would be taken accordingly to sort out the issue,” he said.