Belagavi City Corporation (BCC) has started to organise a committee of its members to identify properties in the city that are valued at millions of rupees. Theft of papers from BCC offices has increased within the last four to five years. Suspicions of massive corruption and forgery are raised by the charges that the theft episodes were planned to destroy the original documentation concerning the assets owned by the firm. According to the corporators of BCC, more than 95 properties owned by the corporation have been leased or rented to government and private organisations involved in social service. They pointed out that lease agreements for over 70 of these properties have expired, and the corporation officials have not yet taken possession of them. Rent payments for many properties have also not been received. The reluctance of officials to reclaim possession of these properties has raised suspicions among the corporators. Therefore, the issue was raised in the recent general meeting of the BCC, where the officers were reminded of their responsibilities. Hanumant Kongali, a BJP corporator and former advocate, stated that their fellow corporators expressed dissatisfaction during the BCC meeting, citing the irresponsible handling by officials leading to the corporation losing crores of rupees in annual revenue. Officials reported that Rs 26 crore is currently outstanding from assets owned by the BCC. Corporators further alleged that since 2013, under the tenure of administrators and commissioners, many properties were leased out without proper oversight. Some individuals have allegedly used these properties for personal gain, while others have established commercial establishments, earning monthly rents ranging from Rs 2 to 3 lakh. Corporators emphasised that it appears the corporation has little control over these assets. Corporators also claimed that some officials have acquired properties in the name of social service and registered them under their own names. MLA Abhay Patil expressed concern that there is no clear record of how many properties have been leased out and to whom. He highlighted incidents of document theft from various BCC offices over the past 4?5 years, suggesting that the destruction of original property-related documents has fueled suspicions of large-scale irregularities. Patil suggested forming a fact-finding committee or conducting a high-level investigation to address these concerns. Reshma Talikote, commissioner of BCC's revenue department, acknowledged that the corporation lacks clear information on its leased properties and their locations. Therefore, a survey is currently underway to identify all such properties. Ashok Dudagunti, commissioner of BCC, stated that the revenue department officials have been instructed to conduct this survey and submit a comprehensive report on all corporation assets. He assured me that stringent measures are being implemented to safeguard these properties.
