Clean Sweep in Dammapet: Revenue Office Tackles Corruption
The familiar beat of the Tamuku—a traditional drum used by local revenue officials for public announcements—recently echoed through the villages of Dammapet mandal. However, the message broadcasted this time caught locals off guard. Instead of routine administrative updates, the drumbeat delivered a bold directive: citizens were strictly advised to avoid engaging middlemen or mediators to resolve their land disputes and revenue issues.
For the residents of Dammapet, this announcement represented a refreshing and long-overdue shift toward administrative accountability.
Tracing the Misconduct
To understand the urgency behind this public directive, one must look at the series of irregularities that recently plagued the Mandal Revenue Office (MRO). The systemic breakdown first came to light when Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths caught Ratnam, a land surveyor, red-handed while accepting a bribe from a farmer to survey his land.
Follow-up investigations by higher authorities uncovered deeper institutional malpractice. Dammapet Mandal Tahsildar Naresh and Pedagollagudem Gram Panchayat Officer Ananthalaxmi were subsequently suspended for illegally issuing false land transfer certificates. In a particularly egregious violation, officials issued a fraudulent death certificate for a living landowner to transfer property to an outside buyer. This directly violated the Land Transfer Regulation Act 1 of 1970, which strictly prohibits transferring protected tribal lands to non-family members or non-tribals.
A New Era of Transparency: Direct Governance Takes Charge
To restore public faith and eradicate corruption, the government appointed Maddineni Murali, a Trainee Deputy Collector, to oversee revenue operations. Tasked with investigating past irregularities, Murali moved swiftly to establish a zero-tolerance policy for corruption and eliminate informal brokers from official proceedings.
Dynamic Leadership Restores Hope
The deployment of the Tamuku announcement was Murali’s first public-facing campaign to warn citizens against using mediators. The initiative has resonated strongly across all demographics in the mandal, with younger residents praising the new officer’s dynamic approach. Ramesh, a farmer from Ranguvarigudem, expressed confident of solving the issues of the people with the officer.
Principal Correspondent, Prime Post
Adapa Dora, journalist cum farmer, proved his excellence in both the fields. While working in Andhra Bhoomi (Telugu Paper) and Deccan Chronicle, he forced a famous seed company to pay compensation to the maize farmers for crop loss due to the supply of spurious seeds to them. He wished to maintain harmony between tribals and non-tribals in the mandals of Bhadradri-Kothagudem district for the prosperous of both groups.
