Committees to investigate illegal registration of lands in Pallikaranai, St Thomas Mount
The committee will look into the registrations done pertaining to those survey numbers and file its report within 30 days.
CHENNAI: Following complaints of illegal registrations of land in Pallikaranai and St Thomas Mount in Chennai, the registration department has formed two committees to investigate and file reports on the registrations.
According to the government release, complaints are being received pertaining to illegal registration of several acres of land in ecological important Pallikaranai marshland and involvement of registration department officials in such registrations.
The release added that a committee that will be headed by Chennai collector Rashmi siddharth zagade will assess documents linked to land registrations in Pallikaranai and conduct field inspections. If there are any irregularities caused by officials or individuals, the committee will submit its report to the government within 30 days.
Apart from this, the government has constituted another committee under Uma Maheswari, joint commissioner of the commercial taxes department. Government land in St Thomas Mount falling under 36 survey numbers in the jurisdiction of Chennai South-2 joint sub-registrar office was registered in favour of individuals. The registrations were done even after Alandur Tahsildar wrote a letter in 2015 explaining the land belongs to the government.
The committee will look into the registrations done pertaining to those survey numbers and file its report within 30 days.
Arappor Iyakkam, in a complaint in January 2022, alleged that between 1990 and 2014, marshland to an extent of around 1,000 acres has been registered to others by sub-registrars. The complaint also pointed out that 1,700 acres of marshland was handed over to the Forest Department in 2007.
More than 10 registrations have been made even after the land was handed over to the Forest Department.
In November 2023, the organization filed a complaint with the DVAC over government land worth Rs 250 crore at St Thomas Mount has been grabbed by a few people and land mafia in connivance with the revenue and the registration department officials.