Zero bigha, zero katha, zero lesa land mutated!

The rarest of rare land mutation by Guwahati Revenue Circle

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 25: Guwahati Revenue Circle (GRC) has mutated the landed property of a man amongst his sons and daughters in such a manner that the land in the share of his fourth son has been shown as zero bigha, zero katha and zero lesa. This rarest of the rare land mutation incident is indeed one for the books!

Mutation of a property is the transfer or change of title entry in revenue records of the local municipal corporation office. The point at issue is: if one of the sons of a person is denied his share of parental property for any reason, how come his share is shown as zero bigha, zero katha and zero lesa in the land mutation records in a revenue circle office?

The property in question is a kheraj myadi patta land No. 1138, dag No. 2268 at Ulubari Mouza in Sarania Part II (Guwahati) in the name of Late Dil Mohammad. The recorded inheritors of the landed property of Late Dil Mohammmad are his wife Late Noorjahan Begum (who passed away in 2015), sons and daughters Sirajul Haque Choudhury, Late Safiul Haque Choudhury (who also passed away in 2015), Ranee Choudhury Narah, Nazrul Islam Choudhury, Najma Choudhury and Moinul Haque Choudhury.

Talking to this reporter with land documents, Nazrul Islam Choudhury’s wife Mofida Begum said: “The landed property of my father-in-law was to be shared equally among his four sons and two daughters. However, in 2009 the entire plot of land was mutated in the name of Late Dil Mahammad’s eldest son Sirajul Haque Choudhury, in connivance with Member of Parliament Ranee Narah.

However, we never gave them no objection certificates (NOCs) or affidavits for such a mutation. After that MP Ranee Narah and Sirajul Haque Choudhury started to erect a three-storey building at the spot without the mandatory permission from the GMC or the GMDA. We (Mofida Begum and her husband) sought information on the fate of our parental property through an RTI application at the Guwahati Revenue Circle office in 2009.

However, even today the revenue circle office has not provided us with the information sought despite repeated assurances. When the construction of the building was nearing completion, other sons and daughters of Late Dil Mahammad began to complain before MP Ranee Narah about their respective shares of the property. She then told us that all of us would get our shares of the land that has been mutated against all of us. When got the land mutation record done on June 15, 2017 recently, we came to know that the share of the land against my husband Nazrul Islam Choudhury has been shown as ‘0 bigha, 0 katha and zero lesa’ as read in order sheet (hokum nama) MET/GUW/2016-2017/2622/OMUT.”

The moot question is: how come such an irregularity could happen in the revenue circle office in the State capital city? A section of the deprived lot wants to point their accusing fingers at the MP. They say power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.