GUWAHATI, April 24 – The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) today demanded a CBIinquiry into the land scam involving estate developers Suresh Prithani, Kailash Lohia, Ramavatar Bharokia and Ashok Dhanuka.
Addressing a press conference here, KMSS president Akhil Gogoi also demanded confiscation of their landed property, besides, halt to the process of conversion of agricultural land to other categories once for all, return of the land grabbed by land mafia to the farmers or distribution of such land among the victims of flood and erosion.
The KMSS president also called for immediate steps to arrest Prithani, Lohia, Bharokia and ‘land mafia’ Pankaj Jain alias Patu.
In case of the failure of the Government to take the above steps, the KMSS will distribute the land owned by these people among the landless people and victims of flood and erosion, warned Gogoi.
M/S Brahmaputra Properties Services Pvt Ltd, owned by Prithani, who has a good rapport with Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has been developing a township over a plot of around 15 bighas of agricultural land at Bangora Sontola village under Chayani Mouza of Palasbari Revenue Circle. The plot acquired from the farmers at a throw away price, has already been filled up. The official documents obtained through RTI petition stated that the category of this plot of land is still agricultural, Gogoi added.
The Brahmaputra Group has also filled up a wide natural channel Kalbok, which resulted in artificial flood in the LGBI Airport last year. The GMDA is now restoring the natural width of the channel with the help of the local people, said the KMSS president.
Prithani and company bought the said plot of land at the rate of Rs 60,000 per bigha and the highest price they paid to some of the original owners was Rs 2 lakh against a bigha of land in some cases.
But now, after filling up the plot, they are planning to sell each bigha of land at the rateof Rs 50 lakh. Moreover, the price they are demanding for each of the flats they have developed over the plot is Rs 2 crore. Thus, by investing an amount of around Rs 3 crore, they are now planning to earn Rs 100 crore, alleged the KMSS president, terming this as brazen case of fraud planned with support from the people in power.