Palampur Land Scam: MLA Butail assures action against guilty revenue officials

Chief Parliamentary Secretary and local MLA Ashish Butail on Tuesday said the revenue officials involved in 101-kanal Palampur land scam would not be spared and the land would be soon restored to twenty families, who were its legal owners. He said the state government had adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption.

He regretted that the families were displaced overnight, keeping aside all rules and regulations by passing an ex-parte order. It was shocking and surprising that no summons and notices were served on the affected parties, he said. He said it was a very serious matter and the direct involvement of revenue officials could not be ruled out.

Talking to mediapersons at his residence here, he said as soon as the matter came to his notice, he immediately called for the records of this land and directed the revenue officials to not register any sale deed of the land as the disputed land had already been purchased by a third person. Butail said the twenty families were in occupation of this land since 1946, and when Himachal Pradesh Land Tenancy Act was passed in 1972 by the state government, these families became the automatic owners of this land, and as per law, no one could dispossess them from their land. He said the victims, who had already met him, had been spending sleepless nights, and the new owners had asked them to vacate the land.

Butail said he had already taken up the matter with the state government and appropriate action would be taken as per law against the guilty officials. He said being an MLA, it was his duty to protect the rights of his constituents and any injustice would not be tolerated against anyone.