The controversy over the corruption allegations against city Corporation tax appeals standing committee chairperson Simi Jyothish and a section clerk is back in the focus again with the State government appointing Urban Affairs Joint Director B.K. Balraj to probe the allegations.
Mr. Balraj has been asked to conduct an inquiry whether the Corporation suffered financial losses owing to their decision and submit a report within ten days.
It was in May that the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) raised corruption allegations against Bharatiya Janata Party councillor Simi Jyothish.
The chairperson had allegedly given tax exemptions to the Tejaswini building on the Technopark campus, against norms, causing a loss of ₹4.92 crore to the local body.
The Corporation council and the standing committee had decided not to give any tax exemption for the building.
The allegation was that the chairperson and the section clerk took the decision to give exemption without communicating to the Corporation Secretary.
Clerk suspended
The Corporation suspended the section clerk after the allegations came to light. The clerk then approached the administrative tribunal against his suspension order, following which the Corporation was directed by the tribunal to get the order passed in the council.
However, in the council meeting, the UDF supported the BJP in voting against his suspension, on ‘humanitarian grounds’.
