SANGAREDDY: The arrest of an Irrigation assistant engineer (AE) by ACB sleuths while he was allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh appears to have set off the proverbial cat among the pigeons in the department.
The AE, Ravi Kishore, was caught taking money from a farmer in exchange for issuing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) related to field construction.
According to sources, the initial demand of `10 lakh was later reduced to `7 lakh. The farmer approached the ACB, leading to the trap and arrest. During questioning, the AE reportedly stated that the bribe money was to be shared with several senior officials, including the deputy engineer, executive engineer, superintendent engineer, and chief engineer. The possibility of the AE revealing names has led to concern among department staff. One official has reportedly taken a month’s leave.
Due to the proximity of Patancheru to the capital and rising land values, many farmers approach the department for clearances. It is being said that bribes are commonly demanded for these works. An irrigation department employee said that vigilance officials had earlier investigated the NOC process. He added that the recent arrest has created uncertainty among staff over whose names might have been disclosed.