Govt ups ante against people furnishing forged deeds

Kolkata: The state government has decided to take a strong stand against people who record or attempt to register their names in land documents by furnishing false deeds.

The state Land and Land Reforms (L&LR) department has instructed the BL&LRO (block-level land and land reforms officer) to refer such misdeeds to the concerned registration authority and once confirmation is received from the latter that the deed is fake or forged, penal action will be initiated against the wrongdoer by lodging an FIR with the local police station.

"The move comes as there has been a number of reports of attempts to get names recorded in ROR (Record of Rights) by furnishing fake or forged deeds," a senior official of L & LR department said. Principal secretary of state L & LR department Dr Manoj Pant has recently issued an order in this regard.

The BL&LRO has been asked to cancel mutation proceedings that were initiated on the basis of the forged deeds immediately.

"In case the mutation process has been completed then it would be treated invalid and the BL&LRO would restore the record to its original position under section 50(1)(f) of the West Bengal Land Acquisition (WBLA) Act," the order read.

It further states that under no circumstances, the affected person shall be advised to file an appeal under section 54 of the WBLA Act as that would only aggravate the suffering of the actual raiyat (who has acquired a right to hold land for the purpose of cultivating it) who has already been victimised by the misdeeds of someone else.

"Moreover, such rectification of record does not necessitate invocation of Section 54 of the WBLA Act," read the notification.

The BL&LRO has also been asked to inform the higher authority about such allegations and actions that have been taken.

The ROR contains complete information regarding the land or property and history of holders of land. This revenue document is a vital indicator of the legal status of a land/property.

An aggrieved person would often knock multiple doors like courts, police stations or the additional district magistrate's office against such misdeeds. The department wants action to be initiated from the BL & LRO itself for the benefit of the people.