The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Abdullapurmet mandal surveyor Batuka Srinivasulu and tahsildar B. Sudershan Reddy on Monday while they were allegedly accepting a ₹20 lakh bribe linked to a survey and joint inspection report for a layout under Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) guidelines.
According to the ACB, the officials had initially demanded ₹23 lakh before allegedly settling for ₹20 lakh. The demand was made in connection with conducting the survey and issuing the report required for the layout, the agency said.
The party from whom the demand was allegedly made approached the ACB, which registered a case and arranged an operation. The complainant’s details have been withheld for security reasons.
The ACB said the bribe amount was recovered from Srinivasulu at his instance. The mandal surveyor also tested positive for the chemically marked currency notes used during the operation, according to the agency.
The case brings the functioning of land and layout clearances under scrutiny because survey reports and joint inspection documents form part of the administrative process for developments seeking compliance with planning requirements. In the reported case, the alleged payment was linked specifically to an HMDA-guideline survey, although the ACB’s statement does not indicate whether the layout received any approval or identify the property involved.
Revenue officials at the mandal level can be involved in land records, field verification and related administrative processes. HMDA guidelines apply to layouts within the metropolitan planning area, making survey and inspection documentation an important part of the interface between landowners, developers and public authorities. The case illustrates how a document or field-level process can become a point of contact between applicants and officials.
The ACB said both Srinivasulu and Sudershan Reddy were produced before the Principal Special Judge for Special Police Establishment and Anti-Corruption Bureau cases at Nampally. The supplied ACB account does not state the court’s subsequent directions or whether further arrests or searches were carried out.
The allegations remain subject to the legal process. The ACB’s recovery of the marked currency and the arrest of the two officials form the basis of the action reported by the agency; a final determination of criminal liability will depend on proceedings before the court.
