Land scam surfaces in Tamil Nadu

Preferential treatement given to judges in allotment of land

PTI | December 7, 2010



After land scams rocking the BJP government in Karnataka, the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu is now facing charges of misuse of discretionary powers in allotting prime land to scores of people, including MLAs, politicians and top bureaucrats.

Information obtained through an RTI query has revealed prime land was alloted to a judge of the Madras High Court, a retired judge, kin of a state minister, DMK and Congress MLAs, and ruling party functionaries and a top Intelligence official among others allegedly in violation of norms.

According to city-based RTI activist V Gopalakrishnan, who has obtained the information, the allotments were made in the last few years by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB), whose purpose is to create housing stock to applicants who do not own a flat, house or plot.

Several allottees were connected to those in power and included DMK functionaries' kin.

The beneficiaries were allegedly allotted houses in violation of TNHB rules, as most of them already reportedly owned residential property and at far less price than the market rates.

Comments

 

Other News

Cabinet approves Dearness Allowance, Dearness Relief

The union cabinet chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the release of an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from 01.07.2026 representing an increase of 3% over the existing rates of 6

Cyclone Arnab strikes Andhra as warming oceans amplify storm risks

Cyclone Arnab made landfall along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts in the early hours of Wednesday as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125–135 kmph and gusts reaching 150 kmph. Its rapid intensification has raised concerns about how warmer oceans, global warmin

Counting matters but which ones?

The first instinct of public policy is to count. Its harder task is to count what counts. We have become remarkably good at measuring the reach of the welfare state vis-à-vis beneficiaries covered, rupees transferred, houses built, connections installed and services delivered. But some of the most

Inching closer to a trade deal with America

The cooperation between India and the United States goes back quite a time. We need to relegate that era to the backburner when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited US in the times of president Dwight Eisenhower and called the American let-off of 10 million dollars in defence aid to Pakistan as a “gun w

Manch vs Musk: Forty people and a foreign billionaire

About forty people walked the roundabout on Teen Murti Marg to the gate of Chanakyapuri police station, a distance you could cover in under a minute, on Friday to protest against Elon Musk’s Starlink. The walk was called by the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch. Nobody joined them on the way, and nobody seeme

Master sculptor recalls the making of the Shankaracharya statue

The Golden Chisel: The Story Behind the Making of Ram Lalla  By Seethalakshmi S. and Rahul Nandan Rupa Publications, 168 pages, Rs 395  

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter