Official set Tirupur layout files on fire, says activist

Coimbatore: A city-based RTI activist has complained to the commissioner of Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) about one of their regional deputy directors destroying building approval documents.
Regional deputy director C Mathivanan was under scanner after allegations that he was not handing over many layout approval documents from Tirupur even after the jurisdiction of the textile town was split and the authority given to a different officer. There were charges that Mathivanan was issuing predated approvals for layouts to make it appear that they were given months ago when he was the approving authority.
RTI activist S P Thiagarajan alleged Mathivanan attempted to burn certain documents and he has photographs of such half-burnt documents regarding Tirupur.
Mathivanan, meanwhile, denied the charges and said the burnt papers were extra copies of the documents and the originals were intact.
The activist, however, wrote to the commissioner of Town and Country Planning against Mathivanan. “Earlier, Tirupur approvals were also being handled by Coimbatore DTCP office. But even after DTCP recently set up an exclusive office in Tirupur, Mathivanan did not handover all the files pertaining to that district,” he said.
Thiyagarajan said the commissionerate had taken up the issue and commenced a probe. “It seems Mathivanan was tipped about the inquiry being ordered.”
Thiyagarajan, who went to DTCP on Wednesday morning for other work, said he noticed some surveyors burning some documents behind the office building. “When I accidentally saw the papers burning, I realized they involved him and layouts in Tirupur. I suspect that they reveal some proof of fraudulent activities.” The activist said he has photographs and videos to prove his charges.
The activist said he would also file an RTI to find out the report filed by the two deputy directors who came to Coimbatore on Thursday to investigate allegations against the deputy director.
Mathivanan admitted that he had ordered an office assistant to burn some papers from his office, but not with an intention to destroy evidence. According to him, they get seven to eight copies of each document, including drawings, when layouts come for approvals. “I usually keep all the documents and copies in my office. Since officers from the head office were coming for inspection on Thursday, I cleared my office. I told my office assistant to destroy all xerox copies of files. We are not allowed to give/sell any papers outside. It’s true that the officers came to investigate a report that I was not sending Tirupur files to the new office. The truth is they never came to collect it, despite my requests. Anyway, they have been sent today.”