Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 26 Jul: The Dehradun district administration has taken a resolute stand against fraudulent land allocations under the Tehri Dam Rehabilitation Scheme, with stringent action being initiated against those involved. District Magistrate Savin Bansal has formally recommended a CBCID inquiry to the Uttarakhand government, and has cited serious irregularities in the allocation of residential plots to displaced families. The administration has reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, signalling readiness to go to any extent, including vehicle seizures, suspensions, and legal proceedings, to ensure accountability.
In this case, fresh irregularities have reportedly come to light, with four new cases surfacing during the District Administration’s public grievance hearings. It may be recalled that in this case, the DM had ordered the seizure of the Superintendent Engineer’s official vehicle in connection with the irregularities.
The complaints have steadily filed or received during the ‘Jan Darshan’ programme, presided over by the District Magistrate on a regular basis and a sharp rise in grievances has been observed following the case of Pulma Devi. Taking cognisance, a formal recommendation for inquiry has been sent to the Secretary, Irrigation, Government of Uttarakhand, urging a thorough investigation into the Tehri Dam Rehabilitation Department’s residential plot allocations.
The Tehri Dam Rehabilitation Department has, for years, overseen the distribution of residential plots to project-affected families. Despite earlier interventions, a large number of these plots remain mired in disputes and accusations of fraud, prompting repeated complaints to the district authorities. In its communication with the state government, the administration has categorised these cases as serious and in need of systematic, special, and intensive investigation.
During the Jan Darshan programme and similar forums like Janata Diwas, grievances related to land allocation are notably frequent, particularly those involving the Rehabilitation Department. Cases such as Pulma Devi, Shastripuram Enclave Raipur, Sumer Chand, and Ashish Chauhan have highlighted substantial discrepancies in land ownership records and allocation procedures. This ihas led the District Administration to seek an extensive probe at the government level into all plot allocations made by the Rehabilitation Department in Dehradun and the other affected districts. The Dehradun district administration has recommended deployment of a special investigation team or appropriate police agency to protect victims from fraudulent allocations, criminal conspiracies, and financial harm and to ensure that culpable officers and staff face appropriate punitive measures, restoring public trust and preventing future occurrences.
It may be added here that first such major grievance was received on July 21 from Pulma Devi, a resident of Shastripuram Tapovan Enclave, Raipur Road here, who had purchased land bearing Khasra No 399C from dealer Dinesh Rawat in 2007, with mutation formally recorded in her name. However, another woman, Rajrani, wife of Roshan Lal, demolished the structures on the said land and occupied it. Inquiry revealed that a person named Chandru, son of Amru, had previously been allotted plot No 44, measuring 200 square metres, at the Phulsaini rehabilitation site via a 2007 letter from the Executive Engineer, Research and Planning Section, Rural Rehabilitation, Rishikesh. Later that same year, the Naib Tehsildar, Tehri Dam Project, forwarded Chandru’s land ownership case to Tehsildar Vikas Nagar. Chandru reapplied for ownership of the same plot, and the Sub-Revenue Officer, Infrastructure Rehabilitation Section, Rishikesh, sent the case again to Tehsil Vikas Nagar in July 2019, resulting in the same plot being recorded again in the revenue register (Khatauni). This double recording points towards serious administrative lapses and potential misconduct. Following an inquiry by the SDM Vikas Nagar, the Superintendent Engineer was held accountable and directed to take corrective action. Consequently, the Revenue Inspector, Rehabilitation Directorate, forwarded the cancellation request to Tehsil Vikas Nagar on 7 July 2025, and the Tehsildar, through an order dated July 11, cancelled the duplicated ownership entry recorded in Khatauni Account No. 16 for Fasli Year 1416–1421, village Phulsaini.
Another case dates back to a complaint filed on April 18, 2017 by Sumer Chand, son of Sunder Lal, and Hemant Kumar and Shailendra Kumar, sons of Harinand, residents of village Atakfarm, Tehsil Vikas Nagar. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate informed, through his letter dated June 19, 2025, that residential plots No. 28 and 29, located on Khasra Nos. 302 and 306 with a combined area of 0.0800 hectares, had been allotted to Lakshmi Devi, wife of late Harinand, and to Hemant Kumar and Shailendra Kumar Pandey, residents of Deval Tehri Garhwal, and recorded as such in revenue records. However, physical inspection revealed that actual possession was held by another individual, Kundan Lal Joshi, son of Narottam Das Joshi. Interestingly, Joshi’s name was also recorded against Khasra Nos. 298 and 299, totalling 0.4090 hectares, in Account No. 16. The inspection revealed Joshi had occupied plots No. 28 and 29, despite those being allotted to others, while Khasra Nos. 298 and 299 remained occupied by Tehri Dam Project and other farmers, again suggesting fraudulent dealings and territorial disputes.
Yet another complaint has been received from Ajay Chauhan, son of Sunder Singh Chauhan, resident of B-3/77, Sector 11, Rohini, Delhi, on 21 July 2025, during a public grievance hearing, regarding the residential plot No. B-205 with an area of 100 square metres. This plot was allotted to Irshad Ahmed, son of Liyaqat Ali, resident of Bauradi, New Tehri, in Ajabpur Kalan, Dehradun, on September 25, 2001, with possession receipt No. 3450 issued on January 19, 2004. However, in February 2005, the department allotted the same plot again to another individual, Fatru, son of Bhajju, from Old Tehri. Following the complaint, the department acknowledged the case as one of double allocation, and in 2024, the Director, Rehabilitation, ordered the cancellation of the second allocation made to Fatru for plot No. B-205, Khasra No. 1931K.
Considering the gravity and frequency of these complaints, the district administration has strongly urged the state government to subject all such cases involving THDC and the Rehabilitation Department to a thorough investigation by the Vigilance Department or the CBCID, to bring justice to displaced persons and cleanse the allocation system of malpractices.
