Bengal govt to form special panel to probe irregularities in vested lands

Kolkata: West Bengal government on Friday said that it will form a special committee, headed by a retired judge, to investigate the incidents of irregularities in sealing of government-vested land in the state.

A decision has been taken at a meeting of the state cabinet on Friday which was chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Sources said that the Chief Minister has expressed ire over the involvement of a section of the state land and land reforms department over the irregularities about these vested lands.

They said that the Chief Minister said that some officers of the said department are illegally selling some unused vested land to private parties and those purchasing that land without conducting proper search are getting into trouble at a later stage.

Sources said that the Chief Minister also stressed on starting an awareness drive so that individuals purchasing land should conduct proper search of the background records of the lands they are purchasing to avoid future inconveniences.

Sources said that a proposal has also was cleared to provide government jobs to one member from each of the families of those individuals who became victims of poll-related violence in the recently held elections.

At least 19 persons were killed during the panchayat poll violence. However, unofficial estimates put the total number of casualties at 55.