A surveyor of the Thiruvathipuram municipality near Cheyyar town in Tiruvannamalai district was arrested by sleuths of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, for demanding and taking a bribe of ₹20,000 from an elderly weaver for a name change on a patta.
DVAC sources said that the complainant M. Venkatesan (70), a weaver, and his three children including two daughters, stay in a thatched house on a small plot that was allocated to him by the district administration under a government assistance scheme many years ago. Subsequently, he bought a piece of land abutting this plot, from a local resident, S. Megna, in 1999. Both plots are located in Thiruvathipuram near Cheyyar town.
However, the name on the patta of the purchased plot remained that of the original owner, Megna. As Mr. Venkatesan had decided to transfer this plot to his son, he applied for a patta name change at the special camp held under the Makkaludan Mudhalvar scheme that was organised by the municipality in December 2023, as part of the State government’s efforts to enable quick and easy reach of government services to the public.
Since then, Mr. Venkatesan had been visiting the civic body’s office to check on the status of his application. On March 11 (Monday), he was informed by the municipal surveyor, S. Kannivel (50), that he needed pay to get his job done. Initially, the official demanded ₹40,000 as a bribe, which he later brought down to ₹20,000, taking into account Mr. Venketasan’s old age.
Unwilling to pay the bribe, Mr. Venketasan lodged a complaint with the DVAC. A seven-member team led by S. Velmurugan, Deputy SP, DVAC (Tiruvannamalai), laid a trap and caught Mr. Kannivel red-handed. A case has been registered against him.
