MCG freezes registry to check illegal transfer of its land in city

To ensure there is no possibility of land being illegally transferred to any private or government organisation, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has frozen registry of 26,000 acres of land in the city.

The development comes after the MCG officials, earlier this week, discovered that three acres of its land, worth Rs 12 crore, in Balliawas village had been illegally registered and transferred to seven people.

According to official records, almost 85% of the 26,000 acres is panchayati land, which was transferred to the MCG upon its formation in 2008. It is mostly forest land across villages located at the foothills of the Aravallis near the Faridabad border and lies unused and vacant. MCG officials said small portions of this land are not classified under forest land.

The remaining 15% of the land, official records show, includes the plots where the MCG’s office in Civil Lines, besides various other offices — such as offices of the engineering section, water and sewage, and other administrative services — are located.

Officials said that since the land is too small in size for making any off-site offices or constructions of great magnitude, the registry of the same could be transferred to private bodies or other government bodies in lieu of monetary exchange only after approval from the MCG. As per MCG officials, future registry or transfer of MCG land can only be done through the revenue commissioner in Chandigarh.

“The decision to freeze registry has been done to safeguard all municipal lands in Gurugram,” said MCG commissioner Yashpal Yadav.

Earlier this week, MCG officials were informed of the illegal registry in Balliawas village by a patwari in the revenue department. Last November, a tehsildar (revenue collector), a kanungo (land measurer), and a patwari (land accountant) colluded to illegally modify MCG’s land records of Balliawas village before transferring it to seven people.

The matter came to light earlier this week, when the patwari, who had mutated MCG land, informed the civic body about the illegal registry.

“It seems that the patwari had a fallout with the tehsildar and kanungo over some monetary dispute, that led him to divulge the information about the illegal registry to the MCG. We have submitted a letter to deputy commissioner Amit Khatri to ensure that the three-acre land is transferred back to the MCG. We also want action against the three revenue department officials,” said Yadav.

Deputy commissioner Amit Khatri, however, said he is yet to receive a letter from the MCG regarding the matter.

“I am yet to receive any letter from the MCG regarding illegal transfer of land in Balliawas village. Once received, we will certainly initiate disciplinary action against the revenue department officials concerned,” Khatri said.