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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Illegal conversion of agricultural land alleged by Devesh K Pandey

Illegal conversion of agricultural land alleged by Devesh K Pandey

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published Published on Jun 4, 2010   modified Modified on Jun 4, 2010

Several property dealers, unknown government officials booked 

‘Some property dealers and colonisers allegedly acquired agricultural land'

‘Conversation of agricultural land for residential purposes is not allowed'

Several property dealers and unknown government officials have been booked by the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi Government for allegedly carving out residential plots on agricultural land.

The case pertains to illegal conversion of land in and around Narela in Outer Delhi, but similar violations across the Capital would also be probed.

The rampant illegal conversion, involving more than 50 acres of agricultural land in Narela, came to the notice of the ACB recently through complaints.

The complainants alleged that despite several alerts to the officials concerned, no concrete legal action had been taken to check illegal constructions.

The ACB conducted an enquiry into the allegations and following approval by the Delhi Government, registered a case against over half-a-dozen property dealers and certain unknown officials of the Revenue Department, Delhi Development Authority, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Delhi Police.

Enquiries revealed that from 2007 onwards, some property dealers and colonisers allegedly acquired agricultural land at “non-competitive prices” at Gautam Colony, Sanjay Colony, Vishal Enclave, Swatantra Nagar and Safiabad Road in Narela, and converted them into residential plots.

They also paved approach roads to the illegal plots and even got poles installed at several places to arrange electricity supply. Some of the illegal constructions also had electricity meters installed.

The property dealers allegedly sold the plots to individual buyers claiming that the colonies had bright future prospects.

They also allegedly claimed that they had “settled” all matters with the authorities concerned by paying huge sums of money to ensure that constructions and further development of the colonies were not hindered.

It is alleged that these plots were sold on General Power of Attorney agreements without paying any stamp duty to the Government, thus causing huge loss to the exchequer.

“The GPA is not a mandatory document under the Registration Act. It has no evidentiary value,” said a Government official.

While the present Government acquisition rate for agricultural land is about Rs.75 lakh per acre in the Capital, the ACB suspects that the plots were sold at the rate of Rs.7,000 to Rs.10,000 per square metre depending on the location.

“Various violations have come to light. Conversation of agricultural land for residential purposes is not allowed under the Delhi Land Reforms Act. The illegal constructions point the finger of suspicion at officials of the Revenue Department, land-owning authority DDA, MCD and the police. The prescribed paper works for acquisition of land was not completed and the Government was also deprived of the stamp duty,” said the official.

Before registering the case under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code, the ACB conducted searches at the offices concerned, during which they reportedly seized several “incriminating” documents on Tuesday.

A team accompanied by local revenue officials then visited the under-scrutiny sites on Wednesday for further collection of evidence. The entire proceedings were photographed and video-graphed.

“These are organised crimes. The ACB has taken them very seriously. Details of the findings cannot be disclosed at this stage as investigations have not concluded,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (ACB) I.D. Shukla.


The Hindu, 3 June, 2010, http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/03/stories/2010060362150300.htm


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