Corruption rampant in tahsildar, registration offices in Anantapur

Anantapur: The Tahsildhar offices and Registration departments are turning into a haven of corruption despite the onset of online system of registration and uploading of registered documents.

People who sell or purchase lands are having a hard time getting it uploaded online without the parties concerned greasing the palms of the Tahsidhar office personnel. Despite submitting online applications through Mee Seva, the party concerned is compelled to approach the Tahsidhar office for uploading of their transacted land documents.

While this is a common complaint in general in the district, it is more so happening in Rapthadu and Anantapur Tahsildhar offices where the land values are skyrocketing on the Bengaluru national highway.

The passbooks for the transacted lands are allegedly being given to those who grease the palms of the department staff. While others who make online applications for the passbooks are made to wait indefinitely, says a land purchaser Giresh Kumar.

Besides, valuable lands on the Raptadu highway belonging to the government had been registered in the name of private parties with both the Revenue, and Stamps and Registration departments turning a blind eye to the illegal registrations scandal going on unabatedly for over a decade.

An acre of land is being sold at Rs 1 crore on the highway. Revenue department which is supposed to be a custodian of government lands has not taken any initiative when hundreds of acres of government lands were being sold and purchased by vested interests with the express knowledge of the Revenue and Registrations departments.

Realtors in Bukkarayanasamudram, Kakkalapalle, Papampeta, Narayanapuram and Somaladoddi who launched their housing ventures had illegally merged the government lands beside them and made roaring business out of the prohibited lands so called.

Recently the office of the Tahsildhar had issued passbooks to private realtors for 35 acres of government lands located on the Raptadu highway for which Revenue passbooks had been issued.

Also 26 acres of government land in Kakkalapalle had been given away to a realtor by issuing passbooks and in return taking a huge bribe. Today the situation has come to such a pass that the government which lost hundreds of acres of government lands to private land sharks is now planning to acquire private lands by paying huge sums for implementing the government housing scheme.

Revenue department has turned into a revenue source for private realtors and for the staff conniving with outside vested interests. The Stamps and Registration department has an equal responsibility in making verification on whether the land being registered belonged to government or not especially when it comes to registering of huge chunks of land. Anantapur district known once for availability of huge chunks of government land has now turned into a ' government lands not available' destination.