Hyderabad: Alleging an abnormal delay in the disposal of disciplinary cases within the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department to help tainted officials, the Forum for Good Governance (FGG) on Friday demanded the Chief Minister order an inquiry. The FGG also called for immediate orders for the quick disposal of the long-pending Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) enquiry report.

FGG President M Padmanabha Reddy detailed the case, stating that in 2003, about nine officials—including seven from GHMC, one Tehsildar, and one Sub-Registrar—had hatched a criminal conspiracy to tamper and forge the land records of the Jayagiri Laxmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Malkajgiri. The Sub-Registrar registered these lands in the name of a contractor based on the forged documents, and Town Planning supervisors accorded sanction for the construction of houses.

Following a series of adverse press reports, the V&E department took up an enquiry and submitted its report to the government in 2014. The V&E department recommended registering criminal cases against two officers and departmental action against the remaining officials. It further recommended cancelling illegal building permissions and verifying open spaces. The government accepted the V&E report and directed the GHMC Commissioner to initiate the suggested action.

Despite the government’s directive, M Padmanabha Reddy noted that no action has been taken by the GHMC Commissioner or the MA&UD department to date. He alleged that the V&E enquiry report is virtually being “kept in cold storage,” with the MA&UD department acting as “God fathers” to the flagged officials and contractor. The department further delayed the disciplinary action against the officers by diverting the issue and calling for “further proposals” from the Revenue department and the Commissioner of Town Planning.

The FGG pointed out that the officials implicated in the 2003 crime should have been placed under suspension immediately after the V&E report, but this was not done. Furthermore, for the last six years, the MA&UD department has rejected the FGG’s requests for information on the action taken, stating that providing details would “hamper further action on the disciplinary proceeding,” reinforcing the FGG’s claim of a deliberate delay to bail out the tainted officials.