Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Nov 4: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today registered a case for construction of a petrol pump on state land in Budgam district.
The ACB said that a case under FIR No. 21/2025 at Police Station, ACB Srinagar was registered following a verification conducted on the basis of a complaint received from inhabitants of village Arigam, Budgam.
“The verification revealed that one individual, Ali Mohammad Khan S/o Sonaullah Khan R/o Arigam Budgam, had constructed a petrol pump on Kahcharaie land at Arigam in June 2020, on the basis of a license issued by the competent authority on manipulated and misleading facts”, the ACB said.
It added the investigations disclosed that during 2018, NOCs were issued by the then Patwari Arigam, Naib Tehsildar Arigam, and Tehsildar Khansahab for proprietary land under Survey Nos. 531 and 533 Min. “However, these officers deliberately omitted to record that access to the said land was only through State/Kahcharaie land (Survey No. 535) and failed to mention that the land was separated from the main road by Kahcharaie land prone to encroachment”, the ACB said.
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It surfaced that the concerned Patwari concealed the existence of Survey No. 532 (Shamilat land) while preparing the Khaka Dasti, thereby misrepresenting the factual position of the site. Despite a clarification sought by the ADC Budgam in March 2018, the field staff falsely reported that the site was feasible for transportation and storage of fuel.
“On the basis of these misleading NOCs and reports, the then Deputy Commissioner Budgam issued a Petrol Pump license (No. DCB/2020/10 dated 22.05.2020) in favour of the beneficiary on Survey Nos. 531 and 533, which were not adjacent to each other. The then SDM Khansahab also forwarded the reports to higher authorities without conducting an independent spot verification or record scrutiny”, the ACB statement said.
“In this manner, the concerned revenue officers and officials, by abuse of their official positions and in criminal conspiracy with the beneficiary, facilitated encroachment on State land and conferred undue pecuniary benefit upon the said individual,” it added.
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