| In Pahalgam, tampering of land records goes on silently | | | Saahil Suhail
Early Times Report
Anantnag, June 29: Corrupt revenue officials, in nexus with land mafia, continue to alienate land records in the famed tourist destination of Pahalgam in south Kashmir.
Social activist Mushtaq Pahalgami who hails from Pahalgam told Early Times that once his land was also sold by a revenue official to a Srinagar resident without his knowledge.
"It is too difficult for us to confront the land mafia. Besides being a known social activist it took me over two years to correct the land records while another case is still pending," said Mushtaq, adding that the revenue officials continue to make fraudulent entries and sell the land of powerless people without their knowledge
"Revenue officials have from time to time have tempered with the land records in Pahalgam. This was also established by the Vigilance Organization which unearthed a multi-crore scam in Phalgam. For instance, settlement records show 43 kanals and 19 maralas under khasra number 169, but now after changing the records, the documents show more than 75 kanals under the same khasra number," Pahalgami said.
He said that usually Pahalgam residents don't visit the revenue offices in Pahalgam or Anantnag which encourages the land mafia. "People mostly here are poor and they don't visit these revenue offices. So the land mafia and revenue officials very often take undue benefit of their innocence," he added.
Abdul Rashid, another Pahalgam resident, told Early Times that a businessman from Anantnag purchased forest land in Pahalgam "but managed to get the khasra number of our land on which we are residing for from many decades now."
Locals said that though the High Court had issued directions to government last year to identify wrongdoers, nothing concrete happened.
Pertinently, last year Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Mir, a local resident, filed a petition in the High court after his land records were tempered. His land which is mortgaged to State Bank of India has been alienated through fraudulent revenue records, the court was informed.
The petitioner on behalf of common people of Pahalgam through his lawyer informed the court that the entire land record has been changed fraudulently after revenue records were gutted in 1970 and 1983.
"The revenue officials in connivance with the land mafia are alienating the propertied and even non- propertied land and forest land to the outsiders, particularly to people from Srinagar though the actual owners are living on such land and the land alienated on changed khasra numbers is being shown at other places," the counsel for the petitioner told the court last year.
The court later directed government to identify the wrongdoers.
A similar multi crore scam was established by the Vigilance in 2009 after a land owner with the help of revenue officials managed to change the land records identified for the acquisition of Pahalgam golf course.
VOK has registered an FIR No. 01/2009 U/S 5 (2) P.C Act 2006 r/w 120-B. 420, 467, 468 against revenue officials of district Anantnag for large scale bungling in the disbursement of compensation in this case. Initial investigations have revealed that land measuring 19 marlas situated at Laripura, Pahalgam was recorded under khasra number 1168/224 in the revenue records of Pahalgam, which was identified for the acquisition for golf ground.
But the measurement entry of land in revenue records was manipulated and changed from 19 marlas to 10 kanals and 19 marlas by the accused who had drawn a compensation of Rs 56, 66,625 for 10 kanals and 19 marlas instead of Rs 4, 91,625 for the actual acquired land.
VOK arrested two Patwaris and a land owner but the main accused who include a Section Officer (SO) and the then collector land acquisition were freed. |
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