CM: State to set up committee to prevent fraud in vested land

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that the state government will set up a committee led by a former Chief Justice to check the incidents where land vested by the state is not sold to the innocent people by a section of people with “malafide intention”.

Banerjee also said that the Jagannath Temple that is coming up in Digha will be ready by April next year. The height of this temple will be the same as the Jagannath Temple in Puri.

She said lakhs of people who visit Puri for ‘darshan’ of the Jagannath Temple can come to Digha as the shrine that the state is developing is ‘more or less of the same size’ as that of Puri.

The Chief Minister also hit out at the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for “saffronising” everything. She said that the Modi government is hankering after fame and is also “saffronising” the Indian cricket team.

She alleged that due to the Centre’s faulty policies, more than 1,000 industrialists have left the country.

Banerjee was addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Jagadhhatri Puja organised by the Posta Bazar Merchants’ Association. She virtually inaugurated several Jagadhatri Puja pandals in Chandannagar, Hooghly and across Bengal.

Speaking on the land fraud issue, Banerjee said that sometimes people are caught in legal issues as they naively buy lands which were already vested by the government and a section of people are involved in this incident. She urged the people to check land records of the land before it was mutated so that no touts could befool people.

“We will set up a committee with a former Chief Justice to check such incidents. People are sometimes hoodwinked by some touts. People should always check land records before mutation. We have prepared land records and documentation in respect to land records,” Banerjee said.

She also said that the state government came to know of some issues related to the land in Posta Bazar. She made it clear that the land belongs to the state government and nobody with a “fake” piece of paper can take possession of the land. She said the land issue is still pending in the court.

Banerjee was apparently training her guns at the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust, Kolkata. She said: “After hearing about the issue I asked the law minister about the ownership of the land. It belongs to the state government. If Kolkata Port Trust comes with a paper, it has no validity. If somebody constructs a wall or sets up parking illegally, I would request the police to declare it illegal after consulting the law minister and Posta Bazar Association,” Banerjee added.

Banerjee asked the Agriculture marketing minister Becharam Manna to set up an agri-marketing centre at Posta.

Banerjee recalled how she had urged local businessmen to run their businesses during COVID-19 so that people do not die due to lack of supply of essential goods and food.

From the Puja inauguration programme, the Chief Minister announced compensation of Rs 7 lakh to the family members of the police constable who was mowed down by a speeding vehicle in Balurghat.

She also announced employment as a homeguard for the deceased’s wife.