Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India]: Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh wrote a letter to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav about alleged fake purchase of farmers’ land by the PACL company in the state.
Singh demanded that the state government should investigate the matter and also should knock on the door of the Supreme Court to free the lands of the farmers from the clutches of the company.
According to the letter, dated October 29, the Congress leader wrote, “I want to bring to your attention a serious issue about the fake purchase of lands of thousands of farmers in most of the districts in the state. During the last decade, a company named PACL and its co-companies in connivance with the officials of the Revenue Department and Registrar Stamp Department have done fake registration of lands worth thousands crores. In this matter related to poor farmers, the state government should knock on the doors of the Supreme Court and take immediate initiative to serve justice for the farmers.”
Former CM Singh highlighted that a delegation of farmers suffering from the PACL company, which has been banned by SEBI since 2014, met him and expressed their pain.
He stressed that farmers claimed that they never sold any land to the company, but their lands were registered in the name of the company in the Registrar’s Office. These issues were reported in about 35 districts in the state, including former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s home district Sehore.
He further added, “Some farmers complained against the company to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for getting the registration fraudulently. After a detailed investigation, EOW SP, Ujjain registered a case under various sections against 24 people including the officials of the company, Tehsildar Nalkheda, Patwari, Sub Registrar, Stamp Vendor and witnesses.”
Additionally, the Congress leader requested CM Yadav should take initiative to serve justice to the farmers and file a petition in the Supreme Court in favour of the affected farmers of 35 districts in the state.
“The Madhya Pradesh government should take initiative to serve justice to the farmers by filing a petition in the Supreme Court in favour of the affected farmers of 35 districts. Before this every case of purchase and sale of agricultural land should be investigated and a report should be taken from the collectors of the districts involved in the land scam. Secondly, statements of all the farmers should be taken and they should be given an opportunity to present their side. If fraud is found, a case should be registered against the guilty officials and company directors,” he further wrote.
“Along with this, the farmers whose land transfer, purchase and sale of lands has been banned, their investigation should be done and the ban should be lifted. A separate cell should be formed in every district for hearing the cases of farmers who are suffering due to the PACL company. Additionally, a cell should be formed at the state level under the chairmanship of a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who will represent the state government from the collectors to SEBI and the Supreme Court,” he added.
“I request you (CM Yadav) to order an inquiry at the government level on the above mentioned points into this land scam committed against the small and marginal farmers in the state. Also, the state government should take immediate steps to free the land of the company from the clutches of the company by representing the farmers in the Supreme Court,” Singh concluded.