Times
of India: Coimbatore: Tuesday, 24 March 2015.
Government land
allotted to the public health department in Irugur by the district collector
was sold to a private party in 2013. According to records the entire
registration process and allotting the patta to the private person was done in
just a day. The transaction came to light after K Ramamoorthy, an RTI activist,
filed an RTI application on the issue. District collector Archana Patnaik has
ordered a probe into the matter.
In October
2003, K Muruganandam, the then Coimbatore collector, had allotted 10 cents of land
for the construction of a hospital at A G Pudur in Irugur. "Lack of funds
had forced us to postpone the construction," said an official at the
primary health care centre in Irugur. In the meantime, the land was encroached
upon. Residents and employees of the healthcare centre opposed informed the
collector in May 2013 but no action was taken.
The reply to
the RTI revealed that on 14 May, 2013, Dr Umar Farooq, a medical officer, had
written a letter to the district revenue officer (DRO) informing that the
allotted land was being encroached. "When I asked the DRO about the
letter, he did not give me any answer. The letter clearly stated that the land,
namely survey number 786/2 and 786/3, that was allotted for a public health
centre was encroached by a private party," said Ramamoorthy.
What raised
suspicion over the land transaction is that the land was registered on July 31,
2013 and was allotted on Aug 1, 2013. Four officials from various departments
had signed the document stating that they had inspected the land and approved
it. "The patta was allotted in just one day, but usually the registration
and allotment take a minimum of 30 days to three months. For every patta, the
village administrative officer (VAO), revenue inspector and tahsildhar need to
approve it. When I asked the officials, they said they were not aware that the
land was sold let alone the fact who sold it," said Ramamoorthy adding
that, there is a need to check if officials are selling sites reserved for
government projects without anyone's knowledge.
Residents
alleged that the VAO sold the land to his relatives. "I have treated
patients in this locality for 25 years without any hospital. There is an urgent
need for a hospital in this region. The illegal transaction was done by the
panchayat officials and when I opposed it, false cases were charged against me
to stop me," said an official from the health department in Irugur.
A probe has
been ordered and officials said that the patta will be cancelled and
appropriate action will be taken. "We have forwarded the case to the
inspection cell officer and will take action based on the records," said
Archana Patnaik, district collector.
"The
villagers told me that the locality does not have a hospital, even though the
collector had allotted a piece of land in 2003. When I inquired about the owner
of the land, officials told me that there was no government land available for
a hospital," he said.
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