Another day,another big corruption case in the news . This time from Madurai,where a DMK functionary has been given three years in prison for causing a loss of ₹1.20 crore to government . That is not small amount ah .
The person is P. C. Rajan,who was chairman of Kalakkad Town Panchayat at the time . The whole issue is about him improperly approving one housing layout that was breaking all kinds of rules .
And this all started way back in 2011 . Apparently,someone came to panchayat wanting to turn a 7.43-acre land into 165 housing plots.
But layout plan was not following the norms . It was supposed to have land set aside for public utility,but it didn't. Despite this,Rajan and Executive Officer,A. Muthukumar,just went ahead and sanctioned the project.
And honestly,this is where things get so frustrating for common person. Rules are just ignored for some people.
Of course,this kind of thing eventually came to light and Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Wing started an investigation . The investigating officer,D. Robin Gnanasingh,put together the evidence against both Rajan and Muthukumar.
Few things are very clear in this case:
- A massive loss of ₹1.20 crore was caused to the government .
- approval was for a housing layout that violated basic planning regulations.
- The Special Court held both chairman and the executive officer accountable for their actions.
And so Special Judge,Subbaiah,handed down the sentence . Rajan got three years,and Muthukumar also faced consequences for his part in it. It took long time,but some action was taken finally.
This is exactly the kind of thing that makes people lose faith in the system . You see these big projects coming up and you just hope that all the rules were followed properly. But then you hear stories like this only .
The court's decision is being called a strong message against corruption in public office . But you have to wonder… how many other such files were approved without anyone ever checking…
