The documents of the land, given for rubber plantations, were forged to effect sale: OnmanoramaKollam: The vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (VACB) has come across a massive land grab near Kollam which could put the politician-bureaucrat-realty mafia in Munnar to shame.
A private plantation company has sold off about 100 acres of government land allotted to it for rubber cultivation in the Veliyam panchayat in connivance of government officials.
The state government, however, is yet to give the go-ahead for a criminal investigation into the scam despite an incriminating report from the VACB.
A quick verification by the bureau found that the Nandavanam Estate Private Limited forged land title deeds to claim ownership of around 150 acres at Malappathur, where the government had allowed it to plant rubber trees subject to strict conditions.
The verification led by circle inspector P. Jyothi Kumar followed a complaint from the office bearers of the Kollam District Environmental Protection Coordination Committee.
The company was barred from using the land for any other purpose other than planting rubber trees.
The company, however, divided the 60 hectare land into nine plots and sold six of them to another real estate company, which sold the plots to granite crusher units and other entities.
The Nandavanam Estate could not have pulled it off without support from political leaders and bureaucrats.
The VACB has recommended the filing of a first information report against the Kottarakkara land board chairman (deputy collector), the Kottarakkara additional tehsildar during 2008-10, 2011-12 and 2016-17, the Veliyam village officer during 2008-10 and 2013-16, the Pooyappalli sub registrar at the time of the forging of the title deed apart from the managing director of the company.
The report has also called for additional investigation into the role of other officials.
The land in question would be worth around Rs 100 crore, the VACB reported.
The loss incurred by the government would be greater considering the trees cut down and granite mined from the plot.
The scam would be greater than Munnar considering the extent of land involved in a single shady deal.
In Munnar, small plots of land under different survey numbers were grabbed by influential persons.
The company claimed that it had been allotted the land for rubber cultivation under a special rule in 1958.
The cited rule came into existence only in 1960 and the company had forged all the documents it produced, the VACB has found.
The revenue officials even claimed that the original documents from 1958 were destroyed in a fire in the Kottarakkara sub registrar office.
The VACB has called for urgent measures to retake the land and transfer the tainted officers out of the district until the probe was over.
The government should not extend any assistance to any venture on the land and banks should desist from accepting any collateral on the land.
Construction and quarrying licenses must be suspended and not granted anytime in future.
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