It may be a Herculean task for common men to protect their lands from land sharks. But, for lands owned by the government in Ranga Reddy district, the peril is in the shape of its own officials!
The latest case wherein the erstwhile Tehsildar of the Malkajgiri mandal, Narasimha Rao, was suspended for irregularities committed in mutation of the government lands, is just a tip of an iceberg. There are many such instances not coming to light, insist officials.
As irony would have it, the official was working in the Land Protection Cell when the suspension orders were issued. He purportedly smuggled out documents related to the government land after he was transferred to Hyderabad district and effected online mutation sitting in a revenue office. However, this is not the first time an MRO level official smuggled documents out. Allegations of missing files were raised when the then Tehsildar of Serilingampally was embroiled in the controversy related to transfer of the government lands to private parties in 2012. The files were yet to be found even after action was taken against the erring official.
“Files need not be always smuggled out. Valuable documents can be destroyed within the office too, if the revenue officials wish so and in such case, it will be impossible to trace out the lost documents,” says a highly-placed official, under condition of anonymity.
Mutations pending There reportedly are instances of files missing from the Collectorate and Chief Commissionerate of Land Administration too. Private land documents are no exception.
Many mutations are pending in the district for lack of related documents in the respective MRO offices.
“I bought a piece of land in Shamshabad way back in 2000 for which online mutation was not done. However, I was issued a patta passbook and a copy of pahani regularly. When I pursued the officials, they told me the proceedings copy is missing from the MRO’s office,” said K. Ranga Reddy, an advocate who registered the property in his daughter K. Shwetha’s name.
Official negligence While, it is the duty of the incoming MRO to take charge of all the files from the outgoing officer, it is rarely ever done, as there are thousands of files in each office, under the section in-charge, accepts District Collector N. Sridhar.
Preventive measures were not possible, and action could be taken only after the files were reported missing, he said, adding that a detailed enquiry is being conducted by the RDO about the missing files of Malkajgiri.
