The wife of a state minister in Chhattisgarh has bought 4.12 hectares of government land, and building a resort on it along with her son, an investigation by The Indian Express revealed. According to the report, Sarita Agrawal, wife of Chhattisgarh Minister and BJP leader Brijmohan Agrawal, bought the land in 2009 from the same farmer who had donated the land to the state government back in 1994.
However, the revenue records were never updated to show the government as the owner of the piece of land, even though the forest department spent several lakhs in its afforestation and upkeep and the the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests gave its final clearance to the transfer in 2003.
Even though the sale of land to Agrawal was brought to the notice of the Prime Minister's Office by a whistleblower, after state authorities reportedly did nothing to claim the government land, the different government agencies have been passing the buck. The local administration has asked "action" should be taken by the Forest, Revenue and Water Resources Departments. Ironically, one of those departments is handled by Agrawal's husband, who is currently the Minister for Agriculture, Water Resources and Religious Trusts and Endowments.
Read the full story here.
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