Agartala, March 28: The Tripura Legislative Assembly witnessed significant debates over land corruption allegations and efforts to register khas properties under the Waqf Board.
The Minority Welfare Department revealed that the state government is working to register 919 khas properties under the Waqf Board. According to official data, Tripura has 1,899 Waqf properties, with 980 already registered, while 919 remain as khas properties. These include 602 mosques, 920 cemeteries, 55 Eidgahs, five dargahs, 47 pir shrines, 57 maktabs/madrasas, and 213 other properties like land and ponds. Historical surveys in 1960 and 1980 classified these properties as khas, but the government did not initiate their Waqf registration at the time. The current administration is now taking steps to correct this, while also addressing cases of illegal occupation through legal means under the Tripura Land Revenue Act.
Meanwhile, Congress legislator Sudip Roy Barman stirred controversy by alleging a ₹10,000 crore land scam in Tripura, accusing government officials of collusion with land mafias. Addressing the media, he claimed that Sepahijala District Magistrate (DM) had reported large-scale land irregularities on September 18, 2023. The DM’s letter highlighted illegal transfers of 1,400 kani of land and named two senior officials—Land Record and Settlement Officer Ratnajit Debbarma and Assistant Senior Computer Operator Tapas Chowdhury—as key figures in the scam. Shockingly, within 22 days of reporting the issue, the DM was transferred, allegedly as retaliation.
Barman alleged that land was fraudulently repurposed, with government-owned land being illegally converted for personal use. Despite the DM’s call for immediate removal and investigation of the accused officials, no action was taken. The Congress leader expressed concerns that the officials might alter land records to cover up the scam.
Further intensifying his allegations, Barman claimed that the government deliberately prevented him from raising the issue in the Assembly by excluding his question from the session’s agenda. He accused the BJP government of systematic corruption, silencing opposition voices, and allowing land mafias to operate unchecked.
Barman called for Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha’s intervention and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe. He insisted that if the government had nothing to hide, it should allow an impartial investigation. The allegations have ignited political tensions, with the opposition vowing to continue pressing for accountability.
With both the Waqf property registration issue and the alleged land scam surfacing in the Assembly, the debate over land ownership and governance in Tripura is expected to escalate in the coming days.
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