Victims of the Tanuk TDR bond fraud case speak at a press conference in Guntur on Saturday. |Photo credit: T. Vijay Kumar
The bona fide purchasers of certain Transferable Development Rights (TDR) bonds issued by Tanuku Municipality have suffered huge losses after the state government canceled the bonds for being issued in 2021-2022 in violation of regulations. are.
In a press conference here on Saturday (October 26, 2024), members of the Tanuku TDR Debt Victims Association, including Mr. Yaganti Avinash, Mr. Bathula Suresh Babu, and Mr. P. Maliharjuna Rao, Honorary Chairman of NAREDCO, , urged the state government to provide relief to them. They were innocent and had no involvement in the fraud charges. They explained that this was a violation committed by the Tanuk Municipal Commissioner at the time and the original owner of the land.
The victims explained that they purchased these bonds from the Andhra Pradesh Development Permit Management System (APDPMS) portal, which is a licensed website in the state for this purpose, and that they had the appropriate TDR. It argued that it was the government’s responsibility to guarantee only the bonds. It was set up for public use. More than 800 builders and individuals across the state have purchased these bonds, all of whom are currently facing difficulties obtaining permits.
Suresh Babu said if the state government cancels the TDRs it has issued, how will residents trust these bonds in the future? Builders who used bonds were unable to complete construction or sell properties, incurring huge losses. Small builders were not in a position to invest additional amounts to buy the bonds again.
investigation report
The Associated Press Urban Planning Bureau has reported that based on the survey report submitted by a four-member committee headed by Swapnil Dinkar Punkar, the then chief secretary of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation, an irregularly published report was published in Tanuk city. 29 TDRs were canceled. The commission was set up by the state government following an order of the AP High Court on a PIL filed by the victim.
“The original landowner purchased the agricultural land and submitted it to the municipality claiming it as a developed urban area,” said the report, which was accessed by The Hindu. Additionally, they provided the nearest door number instead of charging a deposit based on the survey number. This allowed them to inflate the value of the bonds, which is a violation. According to the rules, agricultural land must be listed in that category, and developed residential land must be listed in that category. In addition, the city commissioner at the time set the bond ratio at 1:400 instead of 1:200, which is also a violation. Furthermore, the land was confiscated by the municipality even before the master plan was completed, which is also a violation in this case. ”
“The value of TDRs issued should be fixed. Values should be fixed according to categories such as agriculture and housing,” the committee recommended.
However, the victims argued that the government should take action against those responsible for all these violations, instead of punishing the genuine buyers.
Town planning director Ravri Viduratha told The Hindu that those who bought them can withdraw them and head to the new TDRs to complete the construction work. Otherwise, you can wait until the issue is resolved.
Tanuku Municipal Commissioner T. Ram Kumar said that the value of TDR will be determined depending on the agricultural land price. The discontinued TDR involved approximately 28 acres of land.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is investigating the case.
Published – October 26, 2024 9:24 PM IST
