CHENNAI: Tambaram Corporation has suspended two staff members attached to its revenue department on charges of swindling over Rs 1.3 crore in tax collected from residents.
The highest swindle was about Rs 1 crore by a staffer in zone 4 during the last financial year. The employee, identified as Rani, submitted fake bank receipts to the corporation without depositing the actual collection. Officials said she allegedly admitted to the wrongdoing during questioning. The amount was recovered, and departmental proceedings have been initiated against her and others involved.
In another case of misappropriation, a cashier in zone 5, Murali, diverted Rs 32 lakh between January and March this year by collecting property tax, water tax, and other dues in cash, but recording them as card payments in the official system. Officials said that since card transactions typically take 24 hours to reflect in the corporation’s bank accounts, he was able to pocket the funds without detection as the fraud was not immediately detected.
The issue came to light during an internal audit of the corporation’s accounts, initiated on the orders of corporation commissioner S Balachander. Murali was suspended, and the amount has been recovered from him. Vijayalakshmi, an official in zone 5, has been issued a memo for failing to monitor the tax collection.
A senior official told TNIE that further probes are on to determine if more such irregularities occurred. “Once the full extent of the fraud is known, stringent disciplinary and legal action, including filing police complaints, will be taken against those found guilty,” the official said. Officials said the civic body has been ensuring strict action on wrongdoings and will continue with its internal audits.