COIMBATORE: A real estate developer lodged a complaint against former Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) Commissioner P Kumaravel Pandian alleging that the latter demanded a bribe of Rs 2.5 crore for providing land approval. However, the bureaucrat denied the allegations.
In a press meet on Wednesday, the developer, B Somasundaram, who filed the complaint with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), alleged that Kumaravel Pandian demanded the bribe for waiving charges worth Rs 3.6 crore towards the future maintenance fund (FMF) for a jointly-owned 62-acre property near Kalapatti.
"I visited Kumaravel Pandian several times in his chamber to get approval for the property. He once demanded Rs 2.5 crore for processing it," Somasundaram alleged. "Since no corporation demands future maintenance fund for the approval, we approached the [Madras] High Court. The bench then quashed the corporation's order."
The realtor said that the corporation did not waive the FMF despite the court order, after which the developer paid a total fee of Rs 4.12 crore, including Rs 3.6 crore towards the FMF, to avoid further delay in construction work. "The corporation did not issue an original copy of the approval," he claimed.
The developer also sought the intervention of the Chief Secretary to reimburse his FMF payment of Rs 3.6 crore and initiate departmental action against Kumaravel Pandian.
Kumaravel Pandian, who is currently the District Collector of Vellore, refuted all the allegations levelled against him. He alleged that Somasundaram threatened him to provide the approval in one of the meetings. "After this incident, I told him not to meet me," he added.
Speaking on the HC order, he said the developer paid the amount before the civic body could appeal against the order. "But, the original copy of the land approval would be with the corporation only."
The former commissioner added that two landowners of that property met him in his chamber objecting to the land approval. The former commissioner further said the ownership of the property was disputed.
Reacting to this, Somasundaram said that a writ petition would be filed with the Madras High Court on the dispute.
Efforts to reach the present CCMC Commissioner Raja Gopal Sunkara went in vain.