
VISAKHAPATNAM: Peethala Murthy Yadav, corporator of Jana Sena Party, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, alleged that a scam of significant amount was taking place in the GVMC in the guise of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) bonds.
He said some individuals who illegally acquired hundreds of crores worth of TDR bonds during the previous YSRCP regime, were now pressurising the GVMC officials to legitimise these bonds.
Speaking to the media here on Sunday, Murthy said TDR bonds should be issued based on road expansion compensation with the correct ratio being 1:1. However, he charged that the YSRCP government had incorrectly issued TDR bonds worth around Rs 1,000 crore in the past five years. In 2023, TDR bonds were issued to slums that were 50-year-old.
While the standard for TDR bond issuance for slums is 1:1 ratio, Murthy claimed that the YSRCP government issued bonds at the ratio of 1:4. For instance, TDR bonds worth Rs 30 crore were issued at 1:4 ratio in Venkatapathi Raju Nagar slum, he said.
Murthy further highlighted the case of Bakkannapalem in Survey Number 2, where the YSRCP regime issued Rs 209 crore fake TDR bonds. The corporator said he made a complaint to the GVMC Commissioner, resulting in the suspension of TDR bonds.
“However, some YSRCP leaders are now pressurising the GVMC officials to release the pending TDR bonds,” he said.
In another case in Kapparada in Survey Number 41/4, a politician applied for TDR bonds for a stormwater drain, claiming 19 times more the actual land area. According to the survey, the land belongs to the government, but TDRs are being sought for the government land, he exposed.
Murthy also brought up the case of Kommadi, where the land belonging to a deceased woman, affected by a road extension, was being claimed for a 1:4 TDR bonds. Despite the person making the claim being deceased, the property is classified as D-Patta, for which TDR bonds are not issued. The TDR bonds in question are valued at Rs 50 crore, he explained.
Additionally, Murthy claimed that in Simhachalam, lands occupied in the name of the Simhachalam temple saw 210 TDR bonds issued by the YSRCP government. Of these, five were registered, and 205 put on hold in the temple’s name. “The YSRCP leaders are now pushing for the release of these bonds as well,” he said.
From Gosala to Jail Road, there is also a demand to issue 180 old and 180 new TDR bonds. Murthy further said the GVMC town planning revenue amount to Rs 200 crore per annum, but the TDR bonds in question are worth around Rs 1,000 crore. This has resulted in a significant revenue loss to the government, he said, demanding cancellation of all illegal TDR bonds.