logo
Addl commissioner of Revision Court flags land scam, urges action against illegal RoR changes by tehsildars

Addl commissioner of Revision Court flags land scam, urges action against illegal RoR changes by tehsildars

BHUBANESWAR: The land administration system in the state, particularly in the most sought after capital region, seems to have fallen into a vice like grip of the land mafia and real estate operators with tehsildars playing the role of obliging facilitators.
The extent of corruption has been exposed by the additional commissioner of the Additional Revision Court, Bhubaneswar, Pradeep Kumar Nayak highlighting how tehsildars in Khurda district have illegally effected mutations and corrected record of rights (RoRs) by undermining and subverting the law.
In a letter (accessed by The New Indian Express) to the additional chief secretary (ACS) of Revenue and Disaster Management (R&DM) department, the additional commissioner of Court-I, II and IV has flagged serious concerns over illegal land mutations and arbitrary corrections in RoRs by the tehsildars of Bhubaneswar and Jatni in connivance with real estate operators and land mafia.
'During hearings in the court, it was found that the tehsildars of Bhubaneswar and Jatni have corrected RoRs involving transaction of the suit land in Sabik (old) RoRs, which is illegal and arbitrary. This undermines the authority of the Board of Revenue and the R&DM department as the illegal mutation is not tenable in the eyes of law and they have clearly guided by pecuniary/extraneous considerations,' the letter stated.
Stating that the illegal mutations by tehsildars is nothing but a blatant violation of the Orissa High Court's judgment in Harihar Mohapatra vs Commissioner of Land Records and Survey (OJC No. 9621/1996) case, the additional commissioner said, the judgment clearly prohibits tehsildars from admitting mutation applications related to pre-settlement land transfer transactions that occurred before the final publication of Sabik RoRs.
Acting on the verdict, the state government had issued an order in May 1999, restricting revenue officers from entertaining such mutation requests. 'It is a corrupt and criminal practice as there have been cases of illegal settlements/RoR corrections of government land/deity land/common property resources.
This amounts to disrespect to law abiding citizens fighting their cases in revision courts and it is a case of criminal conspiracy by tehsildars and builders/land mafia by bypassing Revision Courts,' the letter state.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Karnataka to redo caste survey amid concerns about data accuracy
Karnataka to redo caste survey amid concerns about data accuracy

Scroll.in

time17 hours ago

  • Scroll.in

Karnataka to redo caste survey amid concerns about data accuracy

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that a fresh caste survey will be carried out in the state, The New Indian Express reported. The new enumeration exercise will be conducted to address complaints from several communities who alleged that they were either excluded or underrepresented in the survey, the Hindustan Times quoted the chief minister as saying. The caste survey is expected to be completed within 90 days. In April, the Socio-Economic and Educational Survey report prepared by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes was accepted by the Cabinet. The data for this survey was collected by the commission in 2015, during Siddaramaiah's earlier tenure as chief minister. The findings had drawn criticism from several ministers, MPs and MLAs who claimed that the data did not represent the diverse caste composition of the state. The Vokkaligas and Veerashaiva-Lingayats, Karnataka's two dominant communities, had objected to the findings, demanding that the report be scrapped and a fresh survey conducted. The survey had estimated that backward classes made up 70% of the population, Lingayats accounted for 11% and Vokkaligas were 10.2% of the population, The New Indian Express reported. Siddaramaiah announced the fresh caste survey after meeting with the Congress leadership at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday. 'The report submitted on the caste census has been accepted in principle,' The New Indian Express quoted Siddaramaiah as saying on Tuesday. 'However, concerns were raised by some organisations, religious heads and a few ministers as the last survey was conducted in 2015.' Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who was also part of the meeting in New Delhi, said that the survey will be redone to allay the doubts about the sanctity of the data. 'Data will be collected through door-to-door and online surveys,' the newspaper quoted Shivakumar as saying. 'The process would be done in a very transparent manner. We will correct all concerns expressed about the previous caste census.' The decision comes ahead of the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, during which details regarding the methodology and timeline of the re-enumeration will be finalised, the Hindustan Times reported.

Kerala CM to release coffee table book on Samastha today
Kerala CM to release coffee table book on Samastha today

New Indian Express

time21 hours ago

  • New Indian Express

Kerala CM to release coffee table book on Samastha today

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will release Confluence, a coffee table book being brought out by The New Indian Express, on the history of Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama at Mascot Hotel here at 5 pm on June 11. Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan will receive the first copy. Samastha president Sayyid Muhammed Jifri Muthu Koya Thangal will preside over. Satheesan will deliver the keynote address. Panakkad Syed Abbas Ali Shihab Thangal will deliver benedictory address. Kozhikode Qazi Syed Mohammed Koya Thangal will lead the prayer. Deputy Leader of the Opposition P K Kunhalikutty will release a documentary. Sports Minister V Abdurahiman will present prizes. TNIE Resident Editor (Kerala) Kiran Prakash will deliver introductory speech and Samastha treasurer P P Umer Musliyar will welcome the gathering. TNIE senior associate editor M P Prasanth will introduce the book.

Ex-IPS officers write to Siddaramaiah, say Bengaluru police chief & cops ‘made fall guys' for stampede
Ex-IPS officers write to Siddaramaiah, say Bengaluru police chief & cops ‘made fall guys' for stampede

The Print

timea day ago

  • The Print

Ex-IPS officers write to Siddaramaiah, say Bengaluru police chief & cops ‘made fall guys' for stampede

The signatories included D.R. Kaarthikeyan, former CBI director; G.B.S. Sidhu, former special secretary, Cabinet Secretariat (R&AW); C.D. Sahay, former secretary, Cabinet Secretariat (R&AW); B.C. Nayak, former special director, Intelligence Bureau; and several others, including former DGPs of Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. In the letter dated 8 June, they said the senior police officers were made the 'fall guys' while those who contributed to the tragedy managed to get away. Bengaluru: At least 30 retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officers shot off a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Sunday, urging him to revoke the suspension of five senior police officers over the 4 June stampede outside Chinnaswamy stadium, where thousands had gathered to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL win. The five officers from Karnataka, including Bengaluru city Police Commissioner B. Dayananda, were suspended for 'dereliction of duty' that led to the stampede in which 11 people were killed. 'In your initial statements, Sir, you had rightly stated that the sudden surge of two/three lakh people at the venue which could accommodate only 35,000 people was the reason for the stampede. However, senior police officers including the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru, who has an unblemished record of service and integrity, have been suspended,' read the letter. Adding, 'They were made the fall guys. There is a general impression that the police officers have been victimised while those, whose haste, over-enthusiasm, and reluctance to take a stand, contributed to the tragedy have managed to get away.' The letter added to the growing outpouring of support for the suspended police officers, especially Dayananda. A 1994-batch IPS officer, Dayananda is known as a soft-spoken policeman who commands the respect of his force. The internet is flooded with posts lauding Dayananda's work ethic and dedication as civil society continues to rally behind the IPS officer and pressure the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government to reinstate him. A day after Dayananda was suspended, a police constable was photographed walking with a photo of Dr B.R. Ambedkar and a black arm band to protest the decision. At least three former Bengaluru City police commissioners have come on record, hitting out against the government for holding only law enforcement officers responsible for the tragedy while absolving all others, including the political class, of any wrongdoing. 'He is the hardest-working officer I know. Even the government knows this but sacrificed him to save themselves,' said one police officer, requesting anonymity. Since the incident, several letters and disclosures have surfaced suggesting that multiple police officers had warned the state government against holding victory celebrations for RCB's maiden IPL championship win in 18 years. The Indian Police Foundation, a pan-India multi-disciplinary think tank dedicated to working for police reform, said Monday that the suspension of the police officers before the completion of a detailed investigation 'has raised serious concerns within the professional policing community across the country'. It added that establishing individual responsibility would be seen as 'scapegoating rather than principled accountability', which would have a demoralising effect on the entire force. Also read: Police letter warned govt of security risk at Vidhana Soudha RCB event, hrs before Chinnaswamy stampede Officer approaches CAT The stampede, in which 11 people died and dozens were injured, prompted Siddaramaiah to suspend the five officers: Commissioner B. Dayananda; Vikash Kumar Vikash, additional commissioner of police (ACP) (West); Shekar H. Tekkannavar, DCP (Central); C. Balakrishna, ACP (Cubbon Park); and A.K Girish, Cubbon Park inspector. The suspension letter said the police commissioner's office 'failed to give written reply to the organizers, rejecting the permission on the grounds of lack of time to prepare for such a huge event'. Siddaramaiah also sacked his political secretary and aide, K. Govindaraj, and transferred the state intelligence chief, Hemant Nimbalkar. On Monday, Vikash approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), appealing the suspension. There is also anger against the new Karnataka Director-General and Inspector-General of Police (DG & IGP) M.A. Saleem for not opposing the government on the suspensions. 'The DG & IGP position is that of a father. He has service left but will have to serve it without the respect of the force,' said another police officer, also requesting anonymity. Dayananda, a native of Ranebennur in Karnataka, was posted as an ACP in Puttur in the Dakshina Kannada district in 1998. He later went on to serve as superintendent of police in various districts, including Dakshina Kannada, Kolar, Chitradurga, Belagavi, and Vijayapura districts until 2008. He then served in various capacities in cities like Mysuru and Bengaluru. He is also the longest-serving state intelligence chief and held that position from 2016 until 2023, when he took over as Bengaluru city police commissioner. He served as the head of intelligence under various chief ministers, including two terms of Siddaramaiah, H.D. Kumaraswamy, B.S. Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai. Known for his passion for technology, he started the practice of police officers having to wear body cameras at all times. Though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has in the past accused the police of siding with the government and targeting Hindu activists, several leaders from the Opposition have backed Dayananda and other suspended officers to corner Siddaramaiah. 'You are targeting the police. We thought all you (Siddaramaiah) did was break the Hindu society by breaking society on caste lines. But we did not know that you were also against the police,' former BJP MP Prathap Simha told reporters Monday. Dubbing Siddaramaiah as 'anti-police', he went on to say that the chief minister was protecting those he considered close to him and instead going after the police. 'Our police department is among the most efficient, you are insulting them and calling them unfit. It is you and your government that is unfit,' Simha said. (Edited by Sugita Katyal) Also read: RCB stampede shows our cities aren't equipped for mass euphoria and celebration

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store