Missing 1963 land record recovered in Punjab; fresh trouble for officials over double payouts

In a dramatic turn in the alleged “double compensation” controversy linked to the Dharmkot–Shahkot stretch of National Highway-703, the rediscovery of the crucial 1963 land-acquisition record is expected to open a new phase of scrutiny against several revenue officials.

The development comes even as the Vigilance Bureau has registered an FIR against Moga Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Charumita, former PWD (XEN) VK Kapoor and circle revenue officer Maninder Singh for allegedly approving a Rs 3.7-crore consent compensation in 2019 without verifying the original acquisition carried out by PWD (B&R) in 1963.

The case had taken a serious legal turn after repeated hearings in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where the state government consistently maintained that the 1963 acquisition files were missing.

On September 12, the Moga Deputy Commissioner submitted an affidavit before the High Court stating that the 1963 record—except the Gazette notification, unpaid register, and Misalband—was “not available.”

The court, in its orders dated October 29 and November 7, had expressed concern over the “unusual conduct” of the departments for failing to produce any record, and even warned of directing an independent agency to register FIRs against senior officials of the Revenue, PWD, Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA) Moga, and NHAI if the documents continued to remain untraceable.

However, on November 13, days after ADC Charumita’s suspension, the Moga district administration recovered the very 1963 revenue record whose absence had led to the controversy. The record confirms that the land in question had already been acquired in 1963—raising suspicion that some individuals may have illegally claimed compensation again in 2019 by treating the same land as “newly acquired.”

Senior officials now say the rediscovery of the file has “completely altered the trajectory of the case” and may expose a larger nexus involving revenue staff who handled demarcation, verification, and land-ownership records over the years.

With the High Court already noting the possibility of deliberate concealment of records and inconsistency in past demarcation reports, the recovery of the missing file is expected to intensify the probe.

The Vigilance Bureau is now examining whether multiple landholders received compensation twice—first in 1963 and again during the 2014-2019 NH-703 widening project.

Officials familiar with the investigation say that the next phase could see several revenue officers—past and present—being questioned, given that the affidavit filed by the DC Moga in the High Court two months ago had formally certified the missing status of the record that has now resurfaced.