Special drive to find stamp duty evasion

Discretionary powers of sub-registrars scrapped DC CORRESPONDENT

The TS government will launch a special drive to detect stamp duty evasion in wake of the Miyapur land scam.

The ongoing raids on sub-registrar offices across the state revealed that the officials had helped property buyers evade stamp duty and in return received bribes.

The CID and ACB teams, who have been conducting raids on subregistrar offices for the last five days, submitted their preliminary findings to the government on gross irregularities in sub-registrar offices across the state.

Official sources said the reports were referred to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who is learnt to have expressed shock and dismay over the corrupt practices in subregistrar offices.

The CM held an emergency meeting with Chief Secretary S.P. Singh, revenue secretary B.R. Meena and CMO officials and directed them to take effective measures to put an immediate end to the menace.

The CM made it clear that he will no longer tolerate malfunctioning of government departments that has caused huge loss to the state exchequer.

Officials brought to the notice of the CM that some “discretionary powers” on registrations given to subregistrars by Congress government in undivided AP made it easier for them to indulge in irregularities.

Former Chief Secretary and CCLA K. Pradeep Chandra too submitted a report to the state government last year on the need to abolish ‘discretionary powers’ to sub-registrars but no effort was made by the government to implement his recommendations.

The CM directed officials to scrap the discretionary powers to sub-registrars with immediate effect. Henceforth, only officials of the level of CCLA and above will have discretionary powers on property registrations.

The CM asked officials to update him on Miyapur land scam developments and CID/ ACB raids on a day-to-day basis so that quick decisions can be made to check loopholes in the property registration system.