Tampering of land documents on rise in CRDA

Vijayawada: With the price of land increasing exponentially, cases of tampering land records are increasing in CRDA limits. The recent fraud by Ghouse Khan availing benefits from LPS scheme is one among such cases. One Kutuganti Seetha Mahalaksmi, from Kurugallu village of Mangalagiri, complained to the Chief Minister thon her land records have been tampered. Mr Naidu fumed at the officials on listening the complaint, and it would be more surprising to know the officials are colluding with fraudsters. There are no instances of action taken against the officials which is worrying the public.

Though the CRDA has not started functioning full-fledgedly, the officials are getting involved in malpractices. Even before the returnable plots are being  given to all the farmers, fake documents are being created by a few to avail the plots and some even had already sold them. The officials had given returnable plots to Ghouse Khan, as he created fake documents, saying his land was drowned in the river in Mandadam village. The CRDA officials said there might be many such instances, out of which only the Mandadam incident has come to the light.

The CRDA officials are trying to pass on the blame to the outsourcing employees, DTP operators and other employees of the same level, with regard to the tampering of land recrods. In fact, unless the higher officials confirm the physical verification, the land agreements or ownership right transfers and other returnable benefits don't take place. There is criticism that the CRDA officials are making outsourcing employees scapegoats for their wrongdoings.

The CRDA failed to probe the officials behind Ghouse Khan’s issue so far. Earlier, a few of them gained lease amounts for two years and other benefits under the LPS scheme, which is also pending for probe and the involvement of higher officials is suspected. At this juncture, Ms Mahalaksmi approached the CM and complained that a few higher officials helped others to encroach her land by tampering the records. On Monday, she met Mr Naidu at Velagapudi Secretariat and also complained that no official had considered her complaint and urged the CM to intervene as the land is the only source of their livelihood, and that they should have to end their life, if it is not in their possession.

The Chief Minister considered the complaint seriously. He said a few issues had come to his notice in the recent times and that he was looking into them
Mr Naidu warned of serious action against the officials, if their involvement was proved, and ordered the officials to take measures to hand over the land back to Ms Mahalakshmi. Recently, two such incidents occurred in Vijayawada too.

A TD MLA’s involvement is suspected and it even led to severe criticism when a piece of land belonging to a freedom fighter was encroached. Post bifurcation, incidents of tampering land records increased abnormally and this is proving worrisome to the people. A senior police official said there is a need to create separate mechanism to monitor land issue as frauds were happening even after digitalisation of land records. Else, these would lead to more trouble, he said.