Palwal :
Alleging that a land mafia engaged in carving illegal residential plots and colonies is active in Palwal district, local MLA Karan Singh Dalal has demanded a high-level probe into the matter.

Claiming that he has taken up the matter with the departmental committee of the state Assembly (Vidhan Sabha), he said a ground-level inquiry has been launched by the local authorities.

He said that a probe at a higher level could reveal the nexus between the land mafia and political persons associated with the ruling party.

Alleging that plotting had been done on at least 250 to 300 acres in and around the city, he said it could not be done without influence within the local administration as no NOC has been taken from the department concerned in the majority of cases of land registration done in the past 3-4 years.

This pointed towards rampant corruption in the local Revenue Department, he alleged.

Several illegal colonies have come up in the neighbourhood of some prime areas like the Mini Secretariat, Sector 2 and Omaxe city here.

He said that while no basic amenities had been provided in most colonies, the land mafia had charged premium rates, claiming that these spots could turn expensive in view of the anticipation of new projects likely to be set up in the district.

Karan Singh Dalal also claimed that the issue of damage to houses in some colonies located at a higher level -- raised by him in the last Assembly session -- had also started bearing results. The local civic body has started a survey of such houses on directions of the departmental committee of the state Assembly.

It would help in knowing the extent of damage caused mainly by the caving in of the land and faulty pipelines and sewerage connections and the measures needed to check the problem.

Claiming that around 80-90 such colonies had come up illegally in the past 15-20 years, Mohan Singh, a local resident, claimed that a population of around one lakh had been residing without the proper facilities of water and sewerage connections primarily due to their being unauthorised colonies.

Denying the charges of illegal registration, Pradeep Deswal, Tehsildar, Palwal, claimed that all the registrations were done as per norms and the NOC condition was mandatory for many areas in the city.