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HYDERABAD: Though the Telangana government earns substantial revenue from the registration and stamp (R&S) department, it has not had the time during the last two years to appoint a fulltime head for it. As a result, land deals are being done left right and centre and there is nobody to check them.

IAS officer Ahmed Nadeem , who is holding full additional charge as inspector general and commissioner of the registration department, is also labour commissioner and industries commissioner. Sources said all the three posts are very important and need full-time heads. However, the TRS regime found it fit to manage the three departments with in-charge heads. “This basically allows all kind of irregularities to take place,“ said a senior official.

“Other revenue earning departments such as commercial taxes and excise have full-fledged heads. However, the state government and in-charge revenue minister Mahmood Ali have ignored the department. Had the regular monitor been in place, scams like the Miyapur one would not have happened,“ a deputy inspector general of the department told TOI.

Official sources said the registration and stamps department earns about `3,500 crore annually. The department is important not only from the revenue point of view but also protection of government land from land grabbers. Ahmed Nadeem spends most of his time with the labour department and has no time to focus on the registration department despite there being allegations that some sub-registrars were involved in shady land deals.

At the Secretariat too, after special chief secretary Vinod Kumar Agarwal retired in February this year, several officials were given additional charge of the registration and stamps department. After the Miyapur land scam came to light, the department has woken up and started reforms.

Now, it has been decided to implement a licensing system for document writers. Document writers, many of whom act as brokers between private persons and sub-registrar and his staff, are found to be part of many illegal transactions. “The GHMC gives licences to architects who prepare drawings for construction of buildings. They are responsible for each of the plan. Now, the idea is to make document writers responsible for the documents prepared by them,“ a senior official of the registration department said.

Goldstone Prasad, his family, have fingers in another land scam; tried to sell government land

While the police department is on the hunt for Goldstone Prasad in the Miyapur land scam, another land scam came to light in which Prasad, members of his family and 19 others allegedly sold 50 acres of forest and government land in Ibrahimpatnam to private persons in May last year.

The `50-crore worth land in Dandu Mailaram village and Hafeezpur hamlet was sold to private persons claiming their right over the property with the help of the Ibrahimpatnam sub-registrar's office. Official sources said the 50-acre forest and government land in Survey No 36 in Dandu Mailaram and Hafeezpur hamlet is also in the government land list with the Ibrahimpatnam sub-registrar's office. Claiming it as `paigah' land and right over the land through civil suit under CS 141958, Virgo Global Media, Goldstone Prasad, his immediate family and 19 others, sold it to Vijaywalakshmi Gadwal and two others on May12, 2016. Ibrahimatpnam in-charge sub-registrar Saleh Khadeer and others helped Prasad in getting the land registered in the name of Vijaywalakshmi and others.

“Khadeer has been suspended for registering a property listed under 22A and forest land that was not denotified by the government and also registering the property without passbooks (record of rights),“ deputy inspector general of registrations department VV Naidu told TOI. Sources said Khadeer, who is the senior assistant with the sub-registrar office was holding in-charge at time of registration.

