The Revenue Department has taken up an inquiry into the alleged illegal grant of land in Kadur and Mudigere taluks of Chikkamagaluru districts. The officers of the Revenue Department are said to have granted land to hundreds of people without verifying the required documents.
The landless people have the opportunity to seek grants of land after filing applications under the relevant forms – 50, 53 and 57 as per the Karnataka Land Revenue Act. A family can have a maximum of four acres and 38 guntas granted. The taluk-level committee, headed by the MLA, grants the land after verifying the documents and claims made by the applicants. However, there are allegations of grant of land to non-eligible beneficiaries in the two taluks. K.N. Ramesh, the previous DC of Chikkamagaluru, had submitted a report to the State government on the irregularities.
Rajender Kumar Kataria, Principal Secretary of the Revenue Department, who is also secretary in-charge of Chikkamagaluru district, during his recent visit to Chikkamagaluru, said that his department would probe the issue case-by-case and take appropriate action. The department has sent 15 tahsildars with the specific purpose of verifying the documents of the land grant. The tahsildars, divided into three teams, will probe the records. Mr. Kataria, during a review meeting in Chikkamagaluru, said there were at least 1,000 instances of land grants in Kadur taluk, which need to be verified.
As per the norms, only those who have been cultivating land before 2002, are eligible to get the land granted. However, in many cases, people who began cultivation as recently as 2010, are said to have got the land granted. In some cases, more than one member of a family has got the benefit. Interestingly, in a few cases, land has been granted even in the absence of an application.
In the preliminary inquiry into 611 land grant incidents executed between 2019 and 2021, there were irregularities in about 472 cases. Now, the officers are checking the records of these files. The Assistant Commissioner of Chikkamagaluru has already begun action against wrongful grants. The officer has already cancelled 50 sanctions, said an official.
According to sources in the Revenue Department, in some cases people, who are not residents of the taluks, have got land sanctions. And, the beneficiaries include even those settled abroad. In one particular case a lady, who died 70 years ago, had been granted land. The officers suspected it to be the handiwork of influential people who brought pressure on the officials and get the land granted.
Following the inquiry, the department is expected to take action against officers responsible for irregularities.
