Many employees suspended and reinstated in similar cases increasing suspicion
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The district stamp department is under suspicion again following a bribery case unearthed two days ago. This comes after a string of similar incidents in recent months, raising concerns about the department's integrity.
In the latest case, Chhagan Patil, the joint sub-registrar of Sillod was caught accepting a bribe, mirroring the incident involving another official Pawan Parihar, a few months prior. These repeated cases have cast a shadow over the entire department's administration.
The department has also faced issues with employee suspensions and reinstatements, further adding to the suspicion. Some employees have been suspended for various reasons but later reinstated, while others remain in charge despite allegations of rule violations.
One specific concern is the alleged practice of registering land sale and purchase transactions without the mandatory NA certificate, which is a violation of the fragmentation rules. These rules prohibit the registration of fragmented land unless a proper layout is approved by the district administration.
Despite these regulations, the stamp department is accused of processing registrations involving divided land parcels without complete documentation, leading to speculation that bribery is enabling these violations. Calls for an investigation into the department's activities since the implementation of the land fragmentation act in July 2021 have been made repeatedly, but they have not been taken seriously. The current approach seems to involve suspending employees upon the discovery of wrongdoing, followed by their reinstatement after a few months.
Overlooking legal requirements
The land fragmentation act, implemented in the district and city since July 2021, mandates that land without a layout approved by the relevant authorities cannot be registered. However, the stamp department has been accused of routinely overlooking these legal requirements. A legal challenge against this practice is currently ongoing, but reports indicate that the department continues to process registrations in violation of the law. The district collector has also conducted an inquiry into these allegations.