Retired IAS officer M.G. Devasagayam has urged the State government to institute a high-level inquiry into the alleged irregularities committed by the president and secretary of Nagercoil Cooperative Housing Society here on Sunday.
In a memorandum submitted to the Secretary to the Government and the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (Housing), Mr. Devasagayam demanded stringent departmental and criminal action against those found guilty and responsible for the irregularities and illegalities.
The retired official said that after his initial appeal the government had ordered an inquiry under Section 81 of the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Societies Act, 1983. A woman Cooperative Sub-Registrar of Kanniyakumari district was appointed as investigating officer.
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Mr. Devasagayam alleged that the president and the secretary, who were suspected to be responsible for the irregularities, had started tampering with the records by adopting unsavoury methods and putting pressure on the investigating officer.
To enable a free and fair investigation, the president and the secretary of the society should be either removed from their positions immediately or placed under suspension, he stressed.
Despite the orders of the Madras High Court banning the sale and registration of unapproved plots on September 9 last year, a few high-value properties of the society were sold with the connivance of the officials of the registration department to some individuals, including the relatives of the president and a former cooperative auditor, Mr. Devasagam alleged.
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The retired official also urged the government to cancel the sale of a 56.5-cent land in Christopher Nagar, as the sale was illegal and carried out with the ulterior motive of cheating the members of the society. It was an act of criminal breach of trust and hence the land should be retrieved, he added.
The president and the secretary of the society had embezzled ₹76,42,080 by way of selling the properties through illegal means, he alleged.