Vijayawada: With the price of land increasing exponentially in and around the city, following the announcement over location of the capital city, cases of forged land documents are also on the rise. At present, six such cases are under the CID investigation. The CID sleuths are trying to create awareness about forged documents among the public. CID SP Kalidasu (coastal region) said there are gangs which are producing forged land documents.

One of the cases is relating to land in Singhnagar, in whic MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, is allegedly involved. The case is under investigation and the joint collector is doing the inquiry. In all the cases, the failure of the Registration & Stamps department is exposed. In the registration offices in Gunadala and Gandhinagar, there were cases of registration of forged land documents with old serial numbers.





This happens because there is no cross-checking in the registration department. The officials here do not verify the documents. They stick to a strict format and see if the challan is attached. The document writers, staff and sub-registrars are involved in manipulation of the documents. In many cases in Vijayawada, the documents were destroyed in the name of riots after the death of Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga.

Mr Kalidasu told Deccan Chronicle: "The serial number of stamp papers is crucial. The record of these number is not maintained properly. Even the rule says that the record has to be maintained only up to 10 years, which again is benefiting those involved in manipulation. The state government launched the Bhoodhar project, in which all the land documents have to be digitised with titles. Yet, there may be disputed lands. In the Bhoodhar project, there is a possibility of the manipulations to get certified. The revenue and registration & stamps departments, both of which are charged of being involved in corruption, are associated with the Bhoodhar project. The project has been launched in Jaggaiahpeta mandal as a pilot project.