Govt land allotted for hosp sold to pvt party

COIMBATORE: Government land allotted to the public health department in Irugur by the district collector was sold to a private party in 2013. According to records the entire registration process and allotting the patta to the private person was done in just a day. The transaction came to light after K Ramamoorthy, an RTI activist, filed an RTI application on the issue. District collector Archana Patnaik has ordered a probe into the matter.
In October 2003, K Muruganandam, the then Coimbatore collector, had allotted 10 cents of land for the construction of a hospital at A G Pudur in Irugur. “Lack of funds had forced us to postpone the construction,” said an official at the primary health care centre in Irugur. In the meantime, the land was encroached upon. Residents and employees of the healthcare centre opposed informed the collector in May 2013 but no action was taken.
The reply to the RTI revealed that on 14 May, 2013, Dr Umar Farooq, a medical officer, had written a letter to the district revenue officer (DRO) informing that the allotted land was being encroached. “When I asked the DRO about the letter, he did not give me any answer. The letter clearly stated that the land, namely survey number 786/2 and 786/3, that was allotted for a public health centre was encroached by a private party,” said Ramamoorthy.
What raised suspicion over the land transaction is that the land was registered on July 31, 2013 and was allotted on Aug 1, 2013. Four officials from various departments had signed the document stating that they had inspected the land and approved it. “The patta was allotted in just one day, but usually the registration and allotment take a minimum of 30 days to three months. For every patta, the village administrative officer (VAO), revenue inspector and tahsildhar need to approve it. When I asked the officials, they said they were not aware that the land was sold let alone the fact who sold it,” said Ramamoorthy adding that, there is a need to check if officials are selling sites reserved for government projects without anyone’s knowledge.
Residents alleged that the VAO sold the land to his relatives. “I have treated patients in this locality for 25 years without any hospital. There is an urgent need for a hospital in this region. The illegal transaction was done by the panchayat officials and when I opposed it, false cases were charged against me to stop me,” said an official from the health department in Irugur.
A probe has been ordered and officials said that the patta will be cancelled and appropriate action will be taken. “We have forwarded the case to the inspection cell officer and will take action based on the records,” said Archana Patnaik, district collector.
“The villagers told me that the locality does not have a hospital, even though the collector had allotted a piece of land in 2003. When I inquired about the owner of the land, officials told me that there was no government land available for a hospital,” he said.