Naib tehsildar dismissed over illegal shamlat land mutation

The state government has dismissed naib tehsildar Varinderpal Singh Dhoot for illegally sanctioning the mutation of 10,365 kanals of shamlat (common village land) at Seonk village, Kharar, to private individuals in 2016.

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Dhoot’s dismissal, ordered by Punjab Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) and Financial Commissioner Revenue (FCR) Anurag Verma, follows an inquiry which found him guilty of violating the Punjab Village Common Lands Act, 1961. Verma described Dhoot’s actions as “malafide”.

Charge withdrawn from 10 officials

On the orders of the high court, the ACS-cum-FCR withdrew the “current duty charge” given to 10 officials of the Revenue Department on Tuesday. One kanungo and nine senior assitants were given the charge of naib tehsildars against the direct quota posts. “The department has no necessity of giving ‘current duty charge’ of the post of naib tehsildar to anyone as out of total 201 posts, 185 had been filled,” said an order issued by the Department of Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management.

The inquiry revealed that while posted as naib tehsildar in Majri, Mohali, Dhoot sanctioned the mutation on September 28, 2016, transferring ownership of 10,365 kanals and 19 marlas of shamlat land to private parties. This action was in defiance of instructions issued by the Revenue Department and a Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the transfer of shamlat land to private individuals.

Retired Additional District and Sessions Judge BR Bansal, in his inquiry report, pointed out that Dhoot had also manipulated the shares of ‘khewatdars’(occupants) by altering or fabricating their shares without proper verification. In some instances, individuals without a rightful claim to the land were even included as shareholders.

In November 2020, the Vigilance Bureau (VB) booked 11 individuals, including Dhoot, kanungo Raghubir Singh, patwari Iqbal Singh, nambardar Gurnam Singh, property dealer Sham Lal and others. In July 2023, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a prosecution complaint against Dhoot and 12 others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The development follows a recent warning from ACS-cum-FCR Anurag Verma to all Deputy Commissioners in the state, directing them to tackle corruption and delays in plot registrations without no-objection certificates (NOCs). The warning came after reports of corruption and delays from various parts of the state.

To combat corruption in the Revenue Department, the Vigilance Bureau recently scrutinised documents at the sub-registrar (Ludhiana West) office. Additionally, in Jagraon, tehsildar Ranjit Singh was suspended for fraudulently registering property deeds in Jagraon while being based at the Ludhiana East tehsil office.

To increase transparency and curb corruption further, the ACS-cum-FCR has mandated the installation of CCTV cameras at all sub-registrar and joint sub-registrar offices across the state. Deputy Commissioners are now required to access live footage from these cameras and conduct random checks.