Land law violations: HP speeds up probe against ex-Chief Secy

Tightening the noose against violations of state land laws, the Vigilance Bureau and the Anti-Corruption Bureau in Himachal Pradesh has sped up its investigation against a former Chief Secretary who was allegedly involved in granting permissions to non-agriculturists as a Revenue Secretary in 2010.

The latest development could open a Pandora's Box in the state.

As per sources in the bureau, the tapped telephonic conversations of the accused P. Mitra, who is presently the state's Election Commissioner, with his close aide and businessman Vinod Mittal have matched with the earlier recorded conversations of the official.

A Shimla trial court had allowed the Vigilance Bureau to use his voice sample that was recorded in another phone-tapping involving former Director General of Police I.D. Bhandari.

The case of phone tapping involving Mitra pertains to irregularities in granting permission to non-agriculturists to purchase land by relaxing Section 118 of the Tenancy and Land Reforms Act.

Sources told IANS that the state Forensic Science Laboratory has matched both the voice samples. In the recorded conversation, two businessmen have been accused of accepting bribe on behalf of Mitra and later passing it on to him.

The recordings pertain to the period when Mitra was the Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue).

He was booked on March 21, 2011, by the Vigilance Bureau under different sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act on the basis of the statement of the two businessmen from Panchkula and Parwanoo, whose telephonic conversations with the bureaucrat were recorded.

"Now both his voice samples have matched and very soon we are going to file a chargesheet against both Mitra and Mittal," a senior vigilance official told IANS.

The Vigilance Bureau has already questioned Mitra and many other officials who were allegedly involved in extending favours in lieu of bribes. It is learnt that more than 250 permissions under Section 118 were granted in 2010.

At that time, BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal was the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.

Section 118 prohibits even non-agriculturist Himachalis from buying land in the state. The purpose of the Act is to protect the farmers.

The previous BJP government led by Dhumal had constituted a one-man commission comprising Justice (retd) D.P. Sood, a former judge in the state high court, to probe 'benami' (illegal) land transactions in the state and look into the violations of statutory provisions and administrative procedures.

It had observed that most of the builders were catering to the needs of the rich from Punjab, Haryana, Delhi along with non-resident Indians.

Owning a home or a property in Himachal is on the wish list of the country's who's who, and the local ownership rights have been projected as a major hurdle for most of the buyers from other states, a real estate expert said.

This has often led to misleading claims by developers claiming to sell property with special privileges of owning a freehold luxury home and this is projected as one of the key unique selling propositions, he said.

In the midst of such claims of non-Himachalis also being able invest in property in the state, the buyer is often led to believe that it is some special status that the builder or the project has.

"But it is not so and the buyers should not fall for this trap and see the viability of the project, permissions procured from the government as well as the past track records of the builder before deciding to park their money there," a Shimla-based realtor told IANS.

Under Himachal's land laws, outsiders who want to purchase a house or a cottage from a builder whose project lies within the municipal limits do not have to seek individual permission under Section 118 of the Tenancy and Land Reforms Law from the government.

It's the builder who will procure all the permissions.

But if a housing project is outside the municipal limits, each buyer of a house or a flat or a cottage has to seek normal permission from the Deputy Commissioner concerned, said a revenue official.

"If you are buying the land in chunk, then only permission from the state cabinet is required under Section 118. In most cases, it is granted to the colonisers only," the official said.

A non-Himachali could buy a maximum of up to 450-metre for residential purposes and 275-metre for commercial purposes by following normal procedures, he said.

The Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Act 2013 enables the builders to construct and sell flats under various categories. IANS