Purushottam Patra, Gariaband. Two days ago, Devbhog Tehsildar Chitesh Devangan, in compliance with the instructions received from the SDM Court, has taken action to remove the names of the buyers from the 94.45 hectares of service land sold in Devbhog Tehsil and register the service land back in the revenue records. Also, it has been recorded as non-transferable in the B-One of the service land so that it cannot be sold in future. Tehsildar Devangan said that after the instructions received from the SDM Court, the names of the buyers have been deleted from the land sold in 184 blocks by the Kotwars of 38 villages. In the case, SDM Tulsi Das Markam said that on the basis of the instructions issued by the government, the case was registered and heard 7 months ago. With the deletion of the names of the buyers, the registry has automatically been declared void. If necessary on the instructions of the higher office, a suit will also be filed on the instructions of the government.
Action has been taken on more than 300 hectares of land in 6 tehsils of the district
After the decision of the High Court in 2022, the state government started taking cognizance of the sale of service land given to the Kotwars. This process of returning the sold land is going on in the entire state. More than 300 hectares of land sold in 6 tehsils of Gariaband district has been returned to the account of service land. District Land Records Officer Arpita Pathak has confirmed this.
Notice for eviction, sufficient time will be given
In Devbhog tehsil, the maximum sales have been done by Devbhog, Jharabahal, Dohel Kotwar. This land is adjacent to the highway, and was also in the prime location of Devbhog town, so big commercial buildings have come up here. Many private schools are also operating from the government BSNL office. After this action, there is panic among private buyers. Tehsildar Chitesh Devangan has also said that eviction proceedings have to be done on private constructions made on Kotwari land. For this, after taking guidance from higher officials, eviction notices will be given to the buyers, they will be given sufficient time to vacate the land. Action will also be taken against the Kotwars selling service land on the instructions of the government.
Buyers are planning to go to Supreme Court
In 1950, the government provided government land to the Kotwars for their livelihood, which was named as Seva Bhoomi. In 2001, the Kotwars occupying this land were given the rights of landowners. Under Land Revenue Code 158, the right to sell this land was also given with the permission of the competent officer. Based on this order, the needy Kotwars sold the land. But some Kotwars had started selling land before 1998, the record for sale was issued from the same tehsil under which the land record was, and the transfer was also done easily. Based on this mistake of the administration, the buyers have decided to challenge the decision of the High Court in the Supreme Court. Also, in case of being found guilty, they will also file a case to make the seller Kotwar an equal partner, so that by assessing the loss at the current price, the compensation can also be recovered from the sellers.