Kerala - Kochi   

Land deals by GCDA to be probed

Staff Reporter

Irregularities alleged in transfer of land at Marine Drive in 1994

KOCHI: The State Government has decided to inquire into land deals by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) that have allegedly caused a loss of more than Rs. 10 crore.

A press release issued from the office of Minister for Local Administration Paloli Mohammed Kutty said the authority gave 1.2 hectares of land on Marine Drive for a major hotel project to O.P. Monga in 1994. Under the contract entered into between the authority and Mr. Monga, he was to remit the land value in six months.

However, he failed to do that and transferred the land to two groups without following the registration procedures.

Preliminary probe

Preliminary inquiries showed that this caused a loss of crores of rupees to the exchequer and the GCDA, the release said. It was also found that the builder claimed undeserving interest for the amount remitted to the authority, quoting the restriction imposed by the Kerala High Court on construction at Marine Drive.

An inquiry by the Accountant-General brought to the attention of the State Government that the authority and the then Government calculated the interest for a period longer than the time the restriction was in force.

This observation was ratified by the Department of Finance.

Strict action would be initiated against officials who had caused this situation, the Minister said.

Loss to be recalculated

The loss would be recalculated after another inquiry by the inspection section of the Department of Finance and time-bound steps would be taken to ensure that this amount was remitted, the Minister said.

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