Assam Police arrest 450 land brokers in crackdown against ‘Dalal Raj’
Earlier this month, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma complained to land revenue department officers about no land-related issues faced by commoners getting resolved without bribing brokers
Assam Police have arrested 453 land brokers in raids conducted across the state since Monday night as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government’s crackdown on ‘dalals’ or brokers operating in land revenue and circle offices.
The raids followed two weeks after chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told land revenue and circle officers to get rid of land brokers from their offices before October 3.
“On Monday night, Assam police rounded up nearly 450 land brokers from different parts of the state. We have a list of nearly 700 such persons involved in taking illegal commissions from common people and harassing them. We will try and get all of them by Tuesday evening,” Sarma said on Tuesday.
“I again warn government officials not to be in touch with these land brokers and help citizens without taking any bribes or through intermediaries. We want to change the existing system and put an end to ‘dalal raj’ (rule of brokers). I also request residents not to take help of brokers for any work,” he added.
Earlier this month, Sarma complained to land revenue department officers about no land-related issues faced by commoners getting resolved without bribing brokers.
Urging all officers to dispose of all pending files in their offices quickly, the CM informed that the government would launch Mission Basundhara, a scheme to help residents address their land-related issues like mutation, correction of names, sale permission, updating of records etc., from October.
