Amartya Sen applies for land mutation, hearing likely to be held on Feb 20

Kolkata: Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has applied for mutation of his land at the Bolpur BLRO office and the hearing in this regard is expected to be held on February 20.

Sen has also slapped a legal notice to the Visva Bharati authorities stating that the latter has to seek an apology for questioning his receipt of the Noble prize. He feels that the move by the varsity is politically motivated.

The Joint Registrar of Visva Bharati had sent a letter to Prof. Sen on January 24, 2023, alleging that the latter was allotted a long-term lease of 1.25-acre and now is in illegal occupation of 13 decimals of land belonging to Visva Bharati. He was asked to immediately hand over parts of the plot he was allegedly occupying in an “unauthorised manner”.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also come out in support of Sen and had handed over land-related documents to him that revealed that Sen had not encroached upon any additional land as alleged by the Visva Bharati university. Banerjee met Sen at his ancestral house in Shantiniketan, Birbhum on January 30.

The LR record of 1984 mentions that the West Bengal Government had given 1.38 acres of land to Dr Sen’s family. The same 1.38 acres of land is mentioned in the old record of 1956 too.

Banerjee had said that the land records prove that Sen has not illegally occupied any additional land as alleged.