Nellore: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths were baffled when they noticed that the fund-starved Nellore Municipal Corporation (NMC) has suffered advertisement revenue loss to the tune of Rs 85,45,352. This has given rise to suspicions that some employees were responsible for this.
The laxity of the civic body’s revenue wing in collecting income from advertisements since 2017-18 was found by an ACB team during verification of records in the corporation’s revenue and town planning wings a couple of days back. Even more shocking is that the officials had not even served notices to the advertisers to clear pending bills.
According to ACB sources, the town planning wing failed to process 222 applications pertaining to building plan approval and 1,255 land regulation scheme (LRS) applications that are awaiting clearance since January. Officials have also not acted upon 2,309 petitions comprising public grievances since August 2018.
ACB inspectors noticed that the corporation was not maintaining important registers pertaining to attendance, leaves, staff advances or even a movement register in the town planning section.
At the revenue wing, there was a revenue loss of Rs 66.70 lakh because of improper calculation of plinth area while approving building plans.
ACB officials were also taken aback when they found revenue loss of Rs 28,59,170 from just three assessments that they verified with regard to vacant land tax.
In a report submitted to the government, the ACB also mentioned about three floors built in the heart of the town without a proper building plan. Though the building is being used as a textile showroom, it was shown as a godown for availing concession in municipal tax. Similarly, ACB found that in a building at Balaji Nagar, three floors, apart from the ground floor, were constructed while the permission obtained was for G+2.
