Exposed: 48 revenue officials in Punjab caught in bribery scandal

Jalandhar/Chandigarh, June 21: A recent report by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has unveiled the names of 48 revenue officials who have been accused of accepting bribes through intermediaries. The report has been submitted to the chief secretary of Punjab for further action.

The implicated revenue officials consist of 28 tehsildars, 19 naib tehsildars, and one sub-registrar from various districts across the state. The bribes were collected by government employees, known as registry clerks, licensed deed writers (Wasika Navis) who are not government employees, and private individuals.

According to the VB report, the tehsildars and naib tehsildars assigned these intermediaries to collect bribe money from individuals seeking property and land registrations. Once the bribe was collected, specific code words were used, and the money was delivered to the respective revenue officials on the same day.

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The district with the highest number of implicated officials is Ludhiana, where six tehsildars and naib tehsildars were named in the report. Bathinda and Hoshiarpur districts follow closely with five revenue officials each. It is important to note that there are over 200 tehsildars and naib tehsildars in the state.

The VB report also highlights significant losses to the government exchequer due to misclassification of properties. Commercial properties were falsely labeled as residential, and urban properties were misrepresented as rural. Different rates of stamp duty are applicable for different types of land, leading to financial discrepancies.

In several instances, property registrations were conducted without the required 'no objection certificate' (NOC) in unauthorised colonies, with the connivance of agents, property dealers, and colonizers. The report states that individuals were harassed or forced to pay bribes to obtain the NOC when it was not necessary. Additionally, tehsildars, aided by patwaris (village-level revenue officers), extorted bribes from individuals during the registration of 'intkaal' (mutation) by tampering with ancestral property records (farad).

The VB report contains the names and designations of the revenue officers involved in the bribery cases, as well as the names of individuals from whom bribes were taken. It also identifies the private and government employees associated with these illegal activities.

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For example, in Ludhiana district, the report names five tehsildars, one naib tehsildar, and 17 individuals involved in collecting bribes, including nine government-employed registry clerks, three private individuals, and five Wasika Navis.

Bathinda district has three tehsildars and two naib tehsildars implicated, while Hoshiarpur district has three tehsildars and two naib tehsildars involved in bribery. These officials were found to have accepted illegal money from deed writers, sewadars, registry clerks, and others.

Rupnagar, Mohali, and Jalandhar districts each have four revenue officers implicated in the bribery case, including four tehsildars and eight naib tehsildars. The report reveals similar patterns of bribery in these districts as well.

Kapurthala and Patiala districts each have three revenue officials implicated, consisting of three tehsildars and three naib tehsildars.

Sangrur, Nawanshahr, and Gurdaspur districts each have two revenue officials, totaling four tehsildars.

Barnala, Moga, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Fatehgarh Sahib, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and Muktsar Sahib districts have one revenue officer implicated in each.

The VB gathered this information between April and May of this year.

The VB report, signed on May 19, was submitted to the chief secretary, who forwarded it to the additional chief secretary-cum-financial commissioner of revenue in Punjab on June 1, for appropriate action.

Punjab Revenue Minister Brahm Shankar Jimpa, stated that the VB has the authority to take action against all those involved in corrupt activities. The government will act upon the VB report based on evidence, as the AAP administration maintains a 'zero tolerance' policy towards corruption.

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- With inputs from agencies

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