RTI query reveals over 3,500 original land records missing in Sanand

Parimal Dabhi Posted: Sep 23, 2009 at 0323 hrs

Ahmedabad Over 3,500 original land records of as many plots of land have gone “missing” from government custody in Sanand, which has turned into a real estate hotspot with the Tatas setting up their Nano project there. Revenue officials have admitted that no effort has been made yet to find and restore these records or to fix responsibility.
Sanand talati (officer in charge of land records) Hari Vaghela revealed this in his reply to an RTI application by Newsline. The reply says the Records of Rights of land from No. 1 to 3,036 and from No. 5,046 to 5,564 have simply gone “missing”. The records contain the change of rights over different plots in Sanand.

Vaghela said that till date, no effort has been made by any officer to restore these records, adding that they were sent to the mamlatdar’s office, but were never returned.

Sanand Mamlatdar Sudhir Patel, however, refuted this. “I have verified it. The talati has no evidence to prove that the records were sent to the mamlatdar’s office and were never returned. Records of Rights documents are part of the Talati office and they are responsible for the upkeep,” he said.

Even as the blame game between the Sanand talati and mamlatdar continues, the landowners have been hit hard. Pankaj Vaghela, a member of Ahmedabad district panchayat, who stays in Godhavi village in Sanand taluka, said this could mean serious trouble. “The Records of Rights documents are very important to prove one’s right over a piece of land. With these documents missing, many people who want to establish their right on their land won't be able to file even a civil suit. Many people are helpless by this mess up now,” he added.

A serious lapse: experts
According to noted RTI activist in Gujarat, Harinesh Pandya, “The Record of Rights documents fall under Category ‘A’ documents that have to be preserved by the Revenue Department forever. And if for some reason the records have been destroyed, then they have to be re-generated or restored. If these documents go missing, then the Revenue Department has to fix the responsibility of the concerned officer.”

He added, “It’s a very serious lapse on the part of the Revenue Department if such a big number of documents has gone missing for such a long time and nothing has been done so far.”

Senior lawyer Vinod Brahmbhatt said that a criminal complaint can also be filed against the concerned revenue officers for the records going missing. Officers right from the talati to the district collector could be named in the complain under sections 201 and 217 of the Indian Penal Code, since these are public documents and it’s the Revenue Department’s responsibility to preserve them.