The ghost of an alleged Rs 20,000 crore land scam involving land meant for Gauchar (grazing land) in Mulasana village in Gandhinagar has begun to haunt the Gujarat Government and the young BJP minister, after it died down with the arrest of former Gandhinagar district collector SK Langa a year ago. A group of Gujarat Congress members led by Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly Amit Chawda visited Mulasana and adjacent villages to assess the situation and prepare a protest site against the state government.
Mulasana hamlet is located near Thol, approximately 20 kilometres west of Ahmedabad. This village is on the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar district border, on the route linking Sanand. Over the last decade or two, builders and land investors from Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, and Surat have constructed enormous land banks in and around Mulasana, Kanjari, Aghol, Bavlu, Medha, Andez, and other villages.
To establish the land bank, the developer acquired almost all of the farmers' lands in Mulasna and adjacent communities. Along with developing the farmers' holdings, the builders swapped reserve land for various village projects with the administration. Lands that could not be transformed (from agriculture to non-agricultural) were also seized by these land mafias under government protection, with the knowledge of government officials.
The Mulasna land scandal is reportedly worth Rs.20,000 crore, according to the opposition Congress. On July 11, 2023, Gandhinagar Police arrested the then-Collector SK Langa on Abu Road in this case. Langa fled after the land swindle was discovered.
SK Langa disposed of 5904 land files during his stint as Gandhinagar Collector, and the majority of his actions in approving the files, norms, and farmer rights are being investigated. The case has been put on hold following Langa's detention. Hundreds of builders and land mafia members who transacted thousands of crores in this case were not charged with corruption or acting as accomplices in the acquisition of government land.
Aside from Langa, no other prominent businessman, leader, or revenue department official was arrested. In this case, corruption problems reached the Chief Minister's office of the then-government, but no action was taken. For the past year, the entire matter has been focused on Langa's bail, court processes, and the government department investigating Langa. The entire affair revolved around Langa.
However, beginning in mid-July, the name of a young minister in the Mulasna case began to get attention. According to reports, the Surat land swindle was discovered between May and June of this year. Following that, the authorities began focusing on powerful persons close to him, as well as taking action against Surat's then-collector, Ayush Oak. As a result, the government discovered that 5904 were cleared by SK Langa and some were cleared by the young minister.
The government has not formally taken any action in this regard. However, the Gujarat secretariat is currently discussing the entire situation. In this scenario, Congress has now come through the back door as well.
According to Leader of Opposition Amit Chawda, "Mulasana land meant for pastoral and panjrapole has been given to builders illegally, and former district collector SK Langa has been arrested." However, development is taking place on that land. It is being held at gunpoint. If this does not cease, Congress and farmers will protest. We will travel to Gandhinagar with the cows and buffaloes."
He stated that the market worth of these 60,000 square metres was Rs 20,000 crore, but existing norms and rules were ignored, and construction of buildings has commenced on the property. He also stated that the Congress party will oppose the government's acquisition of land in Manipur and Godhavi for the purpose of building infrastructure for Ahmedabad's bid to host the 2036 Olympics.
Why did Congress enter through the back door?
The Congress claims the suspected Mulasana land scam is worth Rs.20,000 crore. Thousands of farmers have lost their rights, and their precious farmlands have been given over to land mafias. The collector responsible for this fraud was caught a year ago, but Congress objected only mildly. Congress has never taken a firm stand as Gujarat's opposition party.
Why is Congress not fighting?
Some prominent Congressmen have also benefited from this land fraud. A Congress leader has been a close ally of former district collector SK Langa. He was also a Congress candidate for the 2022 Assembly elections. In the Mulasna scam, a former Congress MLA served as an influential middleman, selling farmers' land and handing over possession to builders. Many Congress leaders who are now BJP MLAs served as leaders till the 2022 elections. They are major investors in the land mafia engaged in the Mulasana scandal. However, the Congress is taking a tactical approach to the entire swindle.
So, why the movement?
Congress became entangled in the Mulasana land fraud because a young minister is involved. Congress has thrown its weight around the young minister and the former Congressmen who joined BJP for creating pressure tactics regarding the multi-crore land scam in Mulasana. The Bhupendra Patel government is equally limited in its ability to act. In such a situation, this young minister is attempting to put the administration on the back foot in connection with the Mulasana land scandal.
