Arappor Iyakkam, an NGO, has urged the State government to investigate the alleged replacement of original property documents at the South Chennai Joint II Sub-Registrar office. Its convenor, Jayaram Venkatesan, said that an investigation by a registrar had led to the cancellation of registration of survey number 442 in May 2023.
“That is a government land. We had taken up investigation into 36 survey numbers, all these parcels of lands had been leased by the British government before the Independence. But post-independence, they were encroached upon by private people and sold several times over. We found that a data entry operator at that sub-registrar office and an accomplice were the ones involved in replacing parent documents in the record room. This is a breach of trust that the common man places in the government. We want this aspect to be investigated and government lands retrieved,” he said.
Mr. Venkatesan said that properties of these 36 survey numbers lay on MKN road, Butt Road, GST Road,in and around Alandur and St. Thomas Mount. Some of these properties had been pledged with banks for crores of rupees by private individuals. “These government properties have been registered in the names of private individuals by a sub-registrar, who registered the properties despite a 2015 order from the Alandur Tahsildar that these properties must not be sold. Fake documents were created.”
A senior revenue official of the Chengalpattu district said based on the direction of Collector R. Rahul Nadh, the Tambaram Tahsildar had cancelled the patta issued to A. William Patterson and Yuvan Mary earlier bearing land survey number 441/1A1A3 measuring one acre and 11,047 square feet. The huge parcel of land located in the St. Thomas Mount village of the Pallavaram Cantonment was worth Rs. 250 crore. The Revenue officials based on the cancellation of the patta took over possession of the land designated as ‘poromboke’ land belonging to the State government.
A senior official of the Registration department said that action has been taken against the sub-registrar responsible for registering the lands. Uma, the official, was suspended and further investigation was underway against other officials to find out as to who was behind the conspiracy to create such fake sale documents.
