Show-cause notices to 3 garden dept officials

Kolhapur: The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Thursday issued show-cause notices to three officers of the garden department over alleged irregularities.
The notices have been issued to garden superintendent Nikhil Pachindre, assistant garden superintendent Pratibha Rajeghatage and Ganesh Khade by chief city engineer Netradip Sarnobat, who is also the chief garden superintendent in the KMC.
On Wednesday, the corporators of Tararani Aghadi alleged that the officers of the department are involved in a racket to get money from the builders instead of trees and tree guards.
The higher authorities found that the officials failed to produce the details of trees and tree guards submitted by a builder. The corporators alleged that instead of trees and tree guards, the officials have taken over Rs 34,000 from the builder with the exercise going on since the last three years.
A KMC official said on the condition of anonymity, "The officers have been told to reply in the next seven days. They will be sacked if they fail to produce proper documents. We will initiate a broader enquiry through our accounts department to make sure that the officers are made responsible for the irregularities over the last few years."
As per rules, while granting permission to any layout, the KMC issues no-objection certificates to the developer only if a tree guard and a sapling is submitted for every 10 sq ft area.