R B Jagadish
Daijiworld Media Network – Karkala (SP)
Karkala, Jun 10: A Lokayukta team led by Udupi district Lokayukta deputy superintendent of police, Umesh Shet, conducted surprise raid on the house of local municipal engineer, Sridhar Naik. The team reportedly laid hands on a huge amount of unaccounted wealth during the raid, including landed property and gold ornaments.
It is said that the official owns two palatial houses at Nitte in his as well as his wife's names.
Various allegations are being heard about Naik, who has been working here as municipal engineer since about a year, in the local circles. One of them relates to pruning down the four-cent children's park near Gandhi Maidan to three cents, and allowing an educational institution to encroach upon the balance one cent land, while the other one is in connection with the construction of compound wall to only 35 cents out of 60 cents municipal land on Hegde Road, and selling the remaining land unauthorizedly to local residents. This issue had also been discussed in the previous general session of the municipal council. The raid coincides with the period during which the above two issues have taken centre stage, and cast question mark on the credibility of the said official.
The fact that the Lokayukta team has been verifying documents relating to assets and landed properties of Naik has given rise to jitters among the officials in the municipality. In the past, forged documents were used relating to the tendering process of a car meant for the use of environmental engineer. After coming to know that the car documents, originally standing in the name of the husband of a former municipal president, had been modified to submit tender in the name of another person, the then municipal chief officer had stayed the process of hiring of that car.
In spite of this development, the last general session of the council found that after two years, rent for the same car was paid at the rate of Rs 84,000 per month by the municipality. Several municipal councillors have alleged large scale misappropriation in respect of billing in connection with various works. They opine that a number of officers, office staff, and people's representatives will be found guilty if proper investigation is conducted into all the municipal dealings.
The citizens of the town have, over the years, observed that officers and other staff working for the local municipality have been amassing enormous amount of wealth within a short period. They claim that several of these officials have properties registered in someone else's name. They have therefore, urged the Lokayukta to hold detailed investigations to all the transactions of the municipality and nail the guilty.