The purchase of agricultural land by certain IAS officers in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal has ignited concerns over possible premeditated land profiteering after 4 years, following a change in alignment of a highway bypass.
According to a report by Nai Dunia, the IAS officers of batch 2013 to 2016 bought two hectares of land in a group of 50 people in 2022 with the intent to build houses in Guradi Ghat village of Bhopal's Huzur tehsil.
Back then, the land was far enough from the Western Bypass. However, the alignment of the bypass was later changed, bringing the said land within a half-kilometre range.
The change in alignment has drawn questions, as it is alleged that the alignment change was made to benefit the IAS officers through an abuse of power. The category of land was also changed from agricultural to residential.
However, the officials have downplayed the allegations, saying that nothing existed when the land was purchased. They added that the bypass alignment was later changed from a higher level, where they have no role to play.
Rajni Singh, a 2013-batch IAS officer and current Narsinghpur Collector, is one of the landowners and has mentioned this land in her immovable property details. She owns 2/50 plots of land measuring 0.079 hectares in Khasra number 124/1/1, jointly purchased by 38 people. Its value was reported as Rs 22 Lakh.
Similarly, 2014-batch IAS officer and Ashok Nagar Collector Saket Malviya owns 2/50 of a 0.0809 hectare of land in Khasra numbers 124/2/1/2 and 124/3, which was purchased for Rs 24 Lakh. 2016-batch Vidisha Collector Anshul Gupta purchased agricultural land in Khasra number 124/1/1/1/2 in a group of 50 people. Its value was reported at Rs 13 lakh.
Mayank Agarwal, a 2013 batch IAS officer, purchased 5,010 square feet of land in Guradi Ghat for Rs 12.5 Lakh. All of the land was purchased in 2022.
It is not the first case of high-ranking officials buying land around Bhopal; more than half of the state's IAS, IPS, and IFS officers own residential and agricultural land around the state capital.
The report has cited the trend to be persisting because of the Bhopal Western Bypass.
What is Western Bypass?
Bhopal city is grappling with rising traffic congestion, and to alleviate this, the government constructed a 52-kilometre bypass near 11 Mile, leading to Gandhinagar.
Upon realising the need for another bypass, a decision was made to build a 40.90 km, four-lane Western Bypass on a hybrid annuity model to ease traffic pressure. Administrative approval for Rs 2,981.65 crore was issued on September 4, 2023.
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Why did the bypass alignment change?
On December 2, 2024, the Ratapani Tiger Reserve was declared a reserve area, which resulted in the proposed route falling within the buffer zone. The plan eventually failed to get environmental clearance.
The bypass was to be built from Ikayakalan to Phanda near Mandideep, a route which included a 6.01 KM forest area. The government has to either cancel the bypass project or find a new route.
The government decided to change the alignment. The stretch is to start at the Mandideep Ratanpur road, pass through Kolar-Ratibad, Fandakalan, and reach Phanda on the Bhopal-Dewas road, with a length of 31.61 kilometres, a reduction of 21 kilometres.
Narsinghpur Collector Rajni Singh stated that the land buyer had purchased agricultural land with the intention of building a house in the future. Permission was obtained from the government as per the rules for purchasing the land. This was also declared in the property description. The buyers included officials as well as people from other professions.