TDR scam: Officials to be reinstated

“They should be in all likelihood be taken back and the reports are positive and we are following the rules,” he added.

The TDR scam came up in October 2005 where the PMC had been allegedly duped by Rs 14 crore by two property owners and their agent,who procured TDR for a plot of land in Kothrud which was already acquired by the PMC.

Six officials were suspended and booked by the Anti-Corruption Bureau under the TDR scam.

The ACB had named assistant engineer Deepak Bhalchandra Kulkarni,junior engineers Dattatray Bhanudas Tambare,Madhusudan Shrirang Yenkar and Chandrasen Tulshiram Nagtilak,legal advisor Ravindra Nivrutti Thorat and maintenance surveyor Sitaram Chintu Kadhu in the scam.

The PMC had acquired 36,000 sq m of land for constructing a garden at survey nos. 143/1,143/2,144/1/2 and 144/3 at Kothrud and had compensated the owners Prabhakar Krishnaji Bhide,Haridas Gangaji Parekh an amount of Rs 21,85,826.

In the report the ACB said that the accused submitted fake documents claiming that they did not receive compensation and made an application to the PMC.

The civic officials who granted the TDR for the second time later realised that they had been cheated and lodged a police complaint but corporators had pointed out that it was the duty of the civic officials to verify the documents before granting the TDR and that there was a possibility that they,too,were involved in the scam.

Flyover work of Pune-Satara road to commence

The proposed flyover construction on Pune-Satara road will gain momentum with the PMC issuing a statement that the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) will ply on side lanes and the bus stands too have been shifted to start the construction.

The area under construction will be a no-parking zone and the bus stops have been shifted. The PMC has planned flyover on Pune-Satara road starting from Chavannagar to Bharati Vidyapeeth. The project worth Rs 47.27 crore would be completed within 30 months. The flyover is designed to have approach roads on both sides and four lanes on the bridge.

The construction work will be completed in two phases — Chavannagar to Ahilyadevi chowk and from Ahilyadevi chowk to Bharati vidyapeeth. To avoid congestion the PMC has asked to use other parallel roads.