PALAKKAD: The Vigilance Department has begun the scrutiny of the documents relating to purchase of 645 acres of tribal land by Suzlon Energy to set up a windfarm in Attappadi.A team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Satheesh is camping at the PWD resthouse and is sifting through the voluminous documents pertaining to purchase of land by Sarjan Realities Ltd and Shubh Realties South (Private) Limited on behalf of Suzlon.The team is being assisted by officials from the Revenue and Registration Departments.Vigilance sources said that out of the total 155 transactions, around 120 documents have already been scrutinised. Of them, 30 odd documents are not in proper order requiring further verification.The officials are examining documents from 1968.This becomes necessary as all land sold by adivasis prior to January 24, 1986 was recognised as valid transactions by Kerala Restriction on Transfer by and Restoration of Land to Scheduled Tribes Act, 1999. They said that their duty is to verifiy the transaction and whether the land was in the possession of the Adivasis on January 24, 1986.For example, Sarjan Realties had bought land under document number 1019/2006 from Pazhaniswamy in 2006 in Sholayur village. Pazhaniswamy had bought this land from Rajammal in 1986. Rajammal had bought this land from Pazhaniappan Gounder in 1968. This transaction, according to the officials was genuine on the face of it. But another case relating to the extent of 1.25 hectares in survey number 1,548 in Sholayur village is doubtful. In another case in Kottathara village, the seller had secured pattayam for his land within a week. Since the issuing of pattayam consists of hearings by the Revenue Department which takes more than a year normally, how the pattayam was received in a short time has baffled the officials.They said the veracity of this pattayam needs to be cross checked at the Land Tribunal in Ottappalam.It may be recalled that Ushakumari of the Agali village office was transferred to Palakkad after her involvement in the deal was exposed.The documents being scrutinised show that the land purchased for setting up the wind farm was at an average cost of `3,000 a cent.Sources in the Vigilance Department said that they would finish the scrutiny of documents this week and move to Agali and other villages of Attappadi on October 10. They will also be conducting field visits in Attappadi.Suzlon Energy had sold 31 windmills along with a land of 1.2 acres each to as many investors. Though Suzlon had bought 645 acres of land in Attappadi to set up 300 windmills, it was abandoned after the investors backed out in the light of the controversy.These lands were however in the possession of Suzlon.The Vigilance Department would submit its report to the government by the end of November.
Comments
0 comment