TNHB scam: Top IAS officials bend rules to get flats under GDQ in Nerkundram Housing Scheme

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

It is not only the top police officers who benefited from the Tamil Nadu Housing Board housing allotments but also Indian administrative service officers who were availing the government discretionary quota for the second or may be third time under the ‘Own Your House’ Nerkundram Housing scheme which came into being during the DMK regime.

And among those include Higher Education Secretary R Kannan, who owns two plots in Phase XV of Hosur, commissioner of prohibition and excise Malik Feroze Khan, who owns a high income group house in Sholingnalur and a middle income group house in Nolambur, Home Secretary Asish Bhengra, who owns a flat in Mogappair Eri and joint secretary public department Mythili K Rajendran, who owns a middle income group house in Vellakinaru and additional secretary to Union environment and forest M F Farooqui.

Others include Union labour secretary Mrutyunjay Sarangi, Tamil Nadu Electricity Board chairman Rajeev Ranjan, chairman and managing director of Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation K Allaudin, member secretary of state planning commission K Dhanavel, Registrar general of India and census commissioner C Chandramouli, Agriculture commissioner Thangakaliya Perumal and chairman urban finance and infrastructure K Ganesan.

The project, which got the approval of the TNHB under the Government Order 56 issued on February 28, 2011, just a day prior to the assembly elections, is mired in further controversy after it was found out that of the nearly 450 allottees of All India Services many had availed houses under the discretionary quota earlier.

Interestingly, the scheme which also highlights Government Order 79, fails to take the gist of the order which clearly states that any applicant who owns a house or plot is not eligible under the government discretionary quota. And it is further backed by a RTI reply to a query by RTI activist V Gopalakrishnan that the GO has not been amended. “There is no government order or guideline or proceedings or rule or orders stating that the applicant applying for house or plot or flat for any scheme in TNHB can have plot or house or flat in his or her name or the family name in the city,” the letter from TNHB clarifies.

Now, Tamil Nadu Housing Board has set a deadline of 15 days to the allottees of Nerkundram housing to provide details about the government discretionary quota allotments and warned that the failure to do so will result in cancellation of the allotment to officers.

Meanwhile other issues which plague the 600 crore Nerkundram housing scheme is the difference between the actual realization and total expenditure to the tune of Rs 168 crore as the realization from the 1,016 allottees at the current approved rate comes to Rs 485.75 crore. TNHB sources said the plan is to increase the price of flat to the existing allottee by 10 per cent besides additional mobilization of funds towards the shortfall by sale of balance flats at higher rate.