Pathankot Land Scam: Mining mafia hatched plot to capture land 'permanently'

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 12

The Pathankot land scam case, which involved the restoration of around 100 acres of panchayat land in Gol village of Narot Jaimal Singh by ADC Kuldeep Singh to some individuals a day before his retirement, has taken a curious turn.

It has now emerged that mining mafia — which had been operating illegally on that land for the last two decades — had hatched a plot to capture the mineral-rich land in connivance with Kuldeep and other department officials after the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats tried to auction it in May-June 2022 during its campaign to free land of encroachments in the villages of the state.

These facts came to light following a perusal of the official correspondence of the department, which had flagged unabated illegal mining “in connivance with department officials” on the land multiple times.

The department had also mentioned the environmental degradation at the land when it said that it had turned into a 15-foot deep pit and an illegal weighing scale (to weigh sand-laden dumpers) had been installed on it.

The mafia, which was already in possession of the land, came up with a fresh ploy to capture the land ‘permanently’ last year when the government started a campaign to free panchayat lands of illegal encroachments. The issue of the land in question was especially discussed in a meeting chaired by Minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal.

On April 18 last year, then Pathankot DDPO wrote to the Naib Tehshildar of Narot Jaimal Singh block, asking him to explain how the illegal sale deed of the land was executed by his office in 2011. On June 29 last year, the Gol panchayat passed a resolution to get the land evicted under Section 7 of the Punjab Village Common Lands Act.

The department then tried to auction the land through an open bidding process but the mining mafia thwarted its officials, claiming they owned the land through the 2011 sale deed.

The sale deed was executed in their favour in 2011 despite the fact that none of the eight beneficiaries — who have now been booked by the Vigilance Bureau —lived in the village.

Later, DDPO Kuldeep Singh, who was officiating as the ADC, allegedly flouted all rules and ‘gifted’ the land to the mafia.

The Tribune blew the lid off the scam on July 19 in a news report titled ‘On retirement eve, ADC gives village’s 100 acres to individuals’. Taking cognisance of this report, Chief Secretary Anurag Verma directed that an FIR be registered against the DDPO and beneficiaries.

Timeline of events

2011 Beneficiaries get illegal sale deed registered in their favour

April 18, 2022 Then DDPO writes to naib tehsildar, asks how the illegal sale deed was executed in 2011

May Govt launches drive to free encroached village common lands

June 29 Gol panchayat passes resolution to free encroached land

Feb 27, 2023 ADC Kuldeep Singh ‘restores’ shamlat land to beneficiaries

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