Gujarat land scam: Court orders fresh survey
April 19th, 2010 - 9:13 pm ICT by IANSGandhinagar, April 19 (IANS) The Gujarat High Court Monday sought a fresh survey report from the government over an alleged land scam involving Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers accused of building bungalows on government land.
A division bench of Chief Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice Akil Kureshi slammed the government for not using traditional surveys for measuring encroachment and presenting a report based on satellite images.
“Have you ever heard of encroachment being measured through satellite,” questioned the bench.
The Chief Justice said that his stint in Gujarat was his fourth in a high court but he had never heard of encroached land being measured in this manner.
“We are hearing so many cases of encroachment on a daily basis. When the poor encroach government land then you opt for traditional methods of measurement. Then why do you have to obtain satellite images in this case even after the court’s specific order,” the bench asked the public prosecutor.
The court said if the state government’s land records office was facing any difficulty in measuring the land then it would direct a central government agency to probe the matter.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Gandhinagar resident Ghanshyamsinh Vaghela alleging that IAS officers had encroached 92 hectare land belonging to the Sardar Sarovar Nigam Narmada Limited (SSNNL) and built bungalows on it.
The bench said it would not have entertained such a petition if there was a Lokayukta in the state.
The petition states that the records of this Alloa village land, located close to state capital and estimated to be worth Rs.400 crore, have been manipulated to facilitate encroachment.
According to the petition, the land was transferred to an association which created Alloa Hill resorts. It was also alleged that the land was given to SSNNL in 1993 for afforestation but neither was the work carried out nor was the land returned to the government.
The court in its last hearing on March 18 ordered the state government’s land records office to probe the allegation, measure the land and submit a survey report.
Following the court’s order, the state government Monday filed a survey report including measurements obtained through satellite.
The court has now ordered the government to submit a fresh report in the next hearing fixed for April 28.
- Top bureaucrats in Gujarat land scam - Mar 21, 2010
- Delhi High Court directs DDA to take encroached land back - May 02, 2012
- Court query on Gujarat cop's testimony before riots panel - Jun 30, 2011
- Court seeks land details of Jor Bagh shrine (Lead) - Feb 01, 2012
- Apex court gives bail to suspended Gujarat bureaucrat - Dec 13, 2011
- High court issues notice to Bukhari, ASI (Lead) - May 31, 2012
- Virbhadra graft case: Court reserves order - Jan 05, 2012
- Official accused of sexual harassment opposes transfer order - Feb 15, 2012
- Supreme Court notice on IAS officer's bail plea - Oct 20, 2011
- Land reclaimed after mosque demolition, DDA tells court (Lead) - Jan 14, 2011
- We have reclaimed land from mosque, DDA tells court - Jan 14, 2011
- Court recalls order of costs for frivolous lawsuit - Feb 04, 2011
- Gujarat court summons officials on pay hike issue - Jun 14, 2011
- Court reserves order on plea of five former ad-hoc judges - Apr 14, 2011
- Court suggests CBI probe if needed against top Gujarat cop - Jun 27, 2011
Tags: afforestation, akil, central government agency, crore, daily basis, division bench, encroachment, government land, gujarat high court, hectare land, hill resorts, indian administrative service, kureshi, land scam, lokayukta, petition states, public prosecutor, sardar sarovar, satellite images, survey report