Following a peasant uprising in the village of Naxalbari in 1967, the state government declared a large amount of land as vested in 1971.
The land and land reforms department later distributed deeds of rights to impoverished farmers and those in need. However, records show that these lands are now controlled by a group of land mafia in collusion with influential local politicians.
In response to chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s orders, officials from the land and land reforms department have begun investigating the situation.
This has brought to light the conflicting relationship between the land mafia and political leaders. It has also been revealed that a significant amount of land, initially marked as Khatiyan No 1 to indicate it as government-owned, has been transferred to other parties and ultimately illegally seized by a certain group.
Before 2014, there were major changes made to the ownership and records of these lands. Since then, the illegal practice of government land grabbing and selling has become a major issue in this region.
Today, government officials, led by BL&LRO of Naxalbari Biplab Haldar, successfully reclaimed 1.61 acres of land in Barojharu mouza at Hatighisa. In order to declare it as state government’s property, they demolished a boundary wall and temporary structures and put up a government signboard.
Sources indicate that a group of corrupt individuals, working with influential local politicians, were attempting to illegally sell this prime land located near the toll plaza on Asian Highway 2 that connects Nepal. The going rate for a katha of land in this area is Rs 25 lakh.
Interestingly, a Trinamul Congress leader recently submitted a written complaint to Mamata Banerjee, reporting that a group of land mafia had obtained fake Khatiyan numbers for a large portion of government land, which is actually the Bamonjhora riverbed.
Asraf Ansari, TMC leader and purto karmadhakshya of Naxalbari panchayat samiti, stated that Biraj Pradhan and his associates are responsible for illegally selling government land (JL No 51 and RS No 161), under Sebdella Jote mouza. When I spoke out against their actions, they threatened me with severe consequences.
It is worth noting that a significant portion of land in Sebdella Jote is owned by the government. However, around 300 families from outside the state have acquired land there and many have built their homes.
As per instructions of the chief minister, yesterday’s demolition drive was carried out based on a survey report, said Naxalbari BL&LRO Mr Haldar. “Recently, we have regained some plots of government land that were illegally occupied 5.10 acres of land in Sebdella Jote mouza and 2.83 acres in South Bagdogra, as indicated in the Khatiyan source, have been reclaimed,” Mr Haldar said, adding, “The process of recovering other illegally transferred government land is ongoing. We have advised those who have built houses on government land to apply for a lease if they wish to prevent their houses from being demolished.”