The departmental inquiry report on the building number scam in Kozhikode Corporation has called for a comprehensive inquiry into the case under an expert panel comprising the police, cyber cell, the department as well as the Information Kerala Mission (IKM). Regional Joint Director (RJD) (Urban Affairs) of Department of Local Self Governance, D. Saju, who led the investigation, pointed out that any of these divisions alone cannot come to a thorough conclusion as the domains are interlinked. Mr. Saju had submitted the report to the State government a few days ago.
Loss for govt.
The report also recommends an investigation into the loss incurred to the public treasury. “The government has a provision to regularise unauthorised buildings for a fee. The fee thus collected is shared equally by the State government and the local bodies. Skipping this process and using underhanded methods to get buildings regularised could have resulted in a huge loss to the treasury as well as the local bodies,” Mr. Saju told The Hindu.
The report outlines a variety of chances that may have led to the scam as well as a few recommendations to avoid such possibilities in future without pinpointing any culprits.
The irresponsible way in which the corporation staff dealt with the password and the user id for the Sanchaya software is listed as one of the primary reasons that could have facilitated the scam. “In many cases, the user, the verifier, and the approver is the same person. This would have provided the said persons an opportunity to conduct fraud. Moreover, the officials were not very careful about keeping the login details confidential,” the RJD said. He also criticised the revenue officials for not giving due credence to a circular from the Corporation Secretary instructing them to be careful with the login details following an issue that was flagged a few months ago.
Faults in Sanchaya
The faults in the Sanchaya software have also been pinpointed in the report, such as the provision for the verifier to edit anything. Besides, the various software developed by IKM are interlinked, giving a person with access to any one of these a chance to peep into other areas. In addition, the IKM seems not to have cured the software properly following the Corporation Secretary's complaint in February.
The report suggests measures such as introducing a ‘One Time Password’ (OTP) system for editing a file in the Sanchaya software. “The edit option is good, but it should be restricted in such a way that it can be done only with the consent of the applicant, which could be facilitated through OTPs”, Mr. Saju said.
The report also pinpoints the fault in allowing an employee to stay at the same position for more than three years, that facilitates them to make a lot of acquaintances and a chance to be influenced by them.
