Murky land deals are many in New Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam: New Vizag, the latest urban conglomeration in town, is turning into a place notorious for murky land deals. New Vizag includes Sagarnagar, Endada, Kapulauppda, Adhibhatlanagar, Madhurawada, PM Palem, Paradesipalem, Kommadi and two IT SEZs overlooking the sea.

The district administration has recently identified various cases in which realtors, in connivance with government officials, tampered with land records and transferred lands belonging to government and private parties. The value of the said lands is estimated at hundreds of crores in the open market.

The role of revenue officials in the rural tahsildar office has also come under the scanner. The district administration has identified that at least 230 acres of valuable land parcels in Madhurawada and Kommadi have changed hands. Most of these 230 acres belonged to the government.

Realtors, along with revenue officials of the rural tahsildar’s office, have tampered with land records in 1B registrar of these 230 acres spread across of Kommadi and Madhurawada. These officials entered new names as owners of these land parcels and also put in their photographs.

District Collector Pravin Kumar said: “Tampering of certain land records has come to our notice. We will take necessary action against government officials involved in tampering with the 1B revenue registrar. Notices will be issued and action will be taken in six weeks.”

He added that special meetings, interactions and gram sabhas in both areas would be held to benefit the original owners of the private lands.

Land value has increased manifold in and around Vizag over the years and so have encroachments. In most cases, land encroachments were done in connivance with revenue staff.  Earlier, district administration had identified at least 60 government land encroachments in each of the 10 mandals of the total 43 in Vizag.

The government has now set a deadline for revenue staff to notify government lands without any further delay.