Offence lodged against realtor for dubious land deals

VADODARA: The district administration has registered an offence against realtor and land dealer Sanjeev Bharambe for allegedly duping the state through fraudulent land deals. Bharambe allegedly obtained land at Jaspur village of Padra taluka through unscrupulous means.
The offence was registered against Bharambe after orders in this regard by the district collector Vinod Rao.Padra police inspector M K Gurjar said Bharambe has been accused of obtaining land that fell under section 43 of Ganot Dhara Act. To deal in such lands, prior permission of the state government is necessary, Gurjar added.
He pointed out that Bharambe had also been accused of entering into government land illegally and usurping it. Bharambe's land in the village has been confiscated by the government. His claim of being a farmer, making him eligible to purchase farm land is also under scanner.
In a related development regarding similar deals in agriculture land that caused loss of revenue to the tune of Rs 32 crore to the government towards premium for conversion of land usage, a deputy mamlatdar N M Joshi has been issued a chargesheet. "The losses pertain to only two cases now even as we are probing other cases," Rao said.
Rao said the role of deputy collector Harshvardhan Yadav is also being looked into. "We have written to the state government in this regard," he said.