The government has ordered a Vigilance probe into the alleged forgery on the litho maps produced by the Survey Department in a case before the High Court relating to excess land held by Harrisons Malayalam Limited.
Following suspicions over the survey maps produced before the court, the special government pleader had scrutinised the maps presented by the Central Survey Office in Thiruvananthapuram and the district offices in Pathanamthitta and Kollam with the help of experts from the department.
It was found that the signatures and office seals of officials who prepared the records were missing from the maps. The use of metric system of measurements, which had been introduced in the State only in 1966, on the maps and the names of certain buildings also raised suspicion. Though the litho maps were claimed to have been prepared in 1921, the measurements were shown in hectares which came to be used only from 1966.
The pleader had brought these discrepancies to the notice of Revenue Minister Adoor Pakarsh and sought an inquiry. The Minister forwarded the file to Minister for Home and Vigilance Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, recommending a Vigilance probe.
