SDO suspended, 8 stamp duty officers to face probe in Nashik land scam: Govt tells assembly

The Maharashtra government has ordered immediate suspension of sub-divisional officer (SDO) Uday Kisve and departmental inquiry against eight stamp duty officers in connection with a land scam case in Nashik district, the state assembly was informed on Friday.

Speaking in the house, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule asserted that stern action will be taken against those found guilty of involvement in the scam.

Instructions have also been issued for criminal action against stamp vendors Zakir and Arif Abdul Latif, he said.

Gopichand Padalkar (BJP) raised the matter during the Question Hour and pointed to irregularities in the swap of land parcels from Sangameshwar and Gugulgaon under Malegaon taluka in Nashik district without the required non-agricultural permission.

According to a 2002 circular, land or agricultural property swaps require the land parcels to be adjacent. However, sub-divisional officer Kisve violated the norms by swapping non-contiguous land between Sangameshwar and Gugulgaon, the minister said.

Bawankule announced the SDO's suspension and assured that a departmental inquiry against him would be completed within a month followed by strict action.

Ruling party MLA Padalkar informed the House that the land in question was illegally divided into 16 sections and 272 plots, violating the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act.

He alleged that 258 unauthorized document registrations were carried out between 2013 and 2019. Stamp duty officers were found to have misused their authority by registering faulty documents, the MLA said.

Bawankule stated that a preliminary inquiry would be conducted against eight stamp duty officers and action against them would be completed before the end of the monsoon session (which concludes on July 18).

Stamp vendors Zakir and Latif have also been found complicit in this scam and will face criminal proceedings, the minister told the assembly.

''Strict action will be taken against all the guilty,'' Bawankule assured.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)