Land scam: 450 families waiting for justice in Tamil Nadu for 6 years
CHENNAI: For six years, over 450 families who bought houses in Thajambur from a builder have been living in worry about the fate of the properties located on government land parcels, which were illegally sold to private individuals. The scam was exposed in 2019, however, the state government has yet to hold accountable the officials responsible for granting fake land titles (pattas) for government land.
Hundreds of property owners from Thazhambur, who invested between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 60 lakh to buy houses, laid siege to the builder’s office in Thiruvanmiyur on Saturday. “The revenue officials involved in this scam have not been arrested yet, but we have received repeated threats if we protest in front of the builder’s office,” said Kalyan K, a resident. The officials are maintaining silence citing pending cases in the High Court and Supreme Court.
Residents say they have been making frequent rounds of various government departments to secure the security of their property, which was purchased with loans and hard-earned money. “When we disputed with the registration department and bank officials how such properties could be registered, we were told that during 2018-19, the then sub-registrar refused to register these houses. However, at that time the Tehsildar had issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the Registration Department. No action has been taken against these officials so far,” said A Ramakrishna, a resident.
Nearly 105 acres of government Anadhinam land was illegally handed over to individuals between 2008 and 2019 and everyone from tehsildars to IAS officers are involved in the scam. In 2019, the Chengalpattu district administration exposed the scam, revealing that government land located along the IT corridor on Rajiv Gandhi Salai was illegally transferred. This led to 1,500 leases being canceled and legal proceedings initiated against three officials.
Apart from reclaiming the land, the administration also stopped the registration process for 400 acres of land of the village classified as Anadhinam in the revenue records. As a result, the sale of 505 acres of land worth Rs 2,500 crore has been suspended from 2020. Several legal cases related to these developments have been filed in the Madras High Court, and a special leave petition has been filed in the Supreme Court. The cases are at various stages in the courts.
According to official sources, in October 2021, the then Chengalpattu collector AR Rahul Nadh sent the original files to the revenue department, recommending punitive action against the officials involved. However, no action was taken and the criminal cases registered by the police made no progress. Interestingly, some of the officers named in the files have been promoted, including an IAS officer who has been assigned a key role. When contacted by TNIE, officials said the matter had been brought to the attention of the government. Revenue officials said the Anadhinam lands in Thazhambur include parcels handed over to ex-servicemen, land allegedly gifted to Sadavarthi Poultry a century ago and others.
“A case is pending between the Governments of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh regarding the ownership dispute of a land parcel allegedly gifted to Sadavarthi Poultry in the early 19th century. The entire 550 acres of land in Thajambur belongs to the government. Necessary steps are being taken,” an official said.
