MAPUSA
Amid a series of land scams surfacing across Bardez – many of them now under the scanner of the government-appointed SIT – a fresh anomaly from Nerul has raised troubling questions about the integrity of land records in the taluka.
In what officials themselves describe as an unprecedented situation, a single property in Nerul is reflected under two nearly identical survey numbers: Survey No. 98 1/A and Survey No. 98 1 A – each carrying different occupants in official records.
Form I & XIV linked to Survey No. 98 1/A shows Mario Roy Do Rosaria De Souza as the occupant. However, Form I & XIV bearing Survey No. 98 1 A lists Samyak Metals Pvt Ltd along with Prashant Jetley, Sanjay Kumar Choudhary and Devendra Kumar Swami as occupants.
The discrepancy has left even revenue officials perplexed.
Officials at the Inspector of Survey & Land Records (ISLR) office maintained that their records reflect only Survey No. 98 1 A.
“In our records only one survey number is shown. There must be some issue with the mamlatdar office which issues Form I & XIV,” an ISLR official said.
However, at the mamlatdar office, the situation appeared more complicated. A dealing clerk, after checking the official system, confirmed that both survey numbers are visible in the records for the same property.
“Both survey numbers are showing in the system. This is the first time I have seen such a thing,” the official admitted, adding that only the mamlatdar could clarify the matter further.
Joint Mamlatdar Ruchika Birje, who handles matters pertaining to Nerul, was unavailable for comment.
The anomaly surfaced when a mundkar residing on the property sought to claim his mundkarial rights.
With two survey numbers attached to what is understood to be a single property, his claim has hit a bureaucratic wall – effectively freezing his legal rights until the confusion is resolved.
A senior advocate dealing in property matters said such a situation should not arise in the first place.
“One property cannot have two survey numbers. If it is an error, it must be rectified immediately. But in this department, accountability is missing. Everyone passes the buck,” the advocate said.
While it remains unclear whether the duplication is the result of a clerical error, a system glitch, or something more deliberate, the timing of the revelation has fueled suspicion.
With multiple land frauds in Bardez coming to light after the constitution of a Special Investigation Team, even a seemingly minor discrepancy now attracts serious scrutiny.
