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Journalism of Courage
Facing severe criticism from within the party,West Bengal Land Reforms Minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah now plans to conduct an inquiry into the illegal land conversion in the Vedic Village township area. The party is reportedly unhappy over Mollahs report and has asked for a clarification regarding his ministrys involvement in converting agricultural land to homestead land. Changing the character of the land is impossible without the consent of the Block Land Reforms Office (BLRO),directly monitored by Mollahs ministry.
I plan to conduct an inquiry to unearth the truth, said Mollah. A top official can hold the inquiry, he said. I want to know what actually happened at the grassroots level. If it is proved that the Land Department officials were involved in the case,action will be taken against them, he added.
Earlier,the party had asked Mollah to clear doubts regarding his favour towards Raj Kishore Modi,the managing director of Vedic Spa Resort. Mollah had allowed Modi to get 44 acres of land vested with the government at a price much lower than the market rate. Mollah had submitted his report to CPM state secretary Biman Bose on Tuesday. Sources in the party said though Mollah claimed that the deal was fair,a section of top bosses in the party was not convinced.
The ministers logic was that the company physically changed the character of the land and there was no way it could be distributed to the landless people. But how was the company allowed to construct there without an official conversion certificate? asked a senior party leader.
A section of Land Department officials is also surprised how builders constructed on the land without the consent of the BLRO office. If any of the plots got mutation and conversion certificate from the BLRO office,the Land Department will not be able to deny responsibilities, said an official.
