ACB conducts raids in town planning offices across Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) carried out surprise inspections in several town planning offices across Andhra Pradesh on Monday, following allegations of corruption and irregularities in building plan approvals.Acting on credible information, ACB officials simultaneously conducted searches on March 10, 2026 in town planning sections of 12 municipal corporations and 3 zonal offices in Visakhapatnam. The inspections were carried out amid complaints that staff members were allegedly demanding bribes and committing irregularities while approving building plans and processing applications under the Building Penalisation Scheme and Layout Regularisation Scheme.The raids covered municipal corporations in Anantapur, Kadapa, Tirupati, Kurnool, Guntur, Vijayawada, Nellore, Eluru, Rajahmundry, Srikakulam, and Vizianagaram, among others. Searches were also conducted at zonal offices located in Pendurthi, Gajuwaka and Madhurawada in Visakhapatnam.During the inspections, officials reportedly found unaccounted cash in the possession of some Town Planning staff. Authorities began an inquiry to determine the source of the money.ACB teams also noticed several irregularities in the approval of building plans and in the processing of BPS and LRS applications. Officials observed that mandatory records, including Vacant Land Tax registers, were not properly maintained, and several building approval applications were pending for long periods without any decision.ACB officials stated that searches are still in progress and detailed findings will be released after the investigation is completed.