Patiala land scam probe complete: Majithia

Stating that the probe into the ‘Rs 250-crore Patiala land scam’ was over,Revenue and Public Relations Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia on Saturday added that the probe report had been submitted to the chief minister for further action. He was present at a state-level function on the 289th birth anniversary of the 18th century Sikh warrior Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia.

The probe,conducted by Financial Commissioner (revenue) N S Kang,has indicted former Patiala DC Vikas Garg. The alleged scam involves the sale of 6,000 square yard of prime government land in Patiala. Majithia said Kang had completed the report and that he had added some comments to it before submitting it to the chief minister. “ I have recommended to the chief minister that a vigilance probe should be conducted into the sale of the land and firm action should be taken against the culprits”,he said.

Majithia further stated that the state will adopt a zero tolerance approach towards corruption. Recently,six tehsildars have been suspended in the state for their involvement in corrupt practices,he said. Majithia,however,admitted that the revenue department suffered from large-scale corruption and claimed it needed an iron hand to deal with the problem.