Punjab Revenue Department Halts Property Registrations Until March 7 in Protest Against Vigilance Action

Ludhiana: The Punjab Revenue Department unions have suspended property registrations across the state until March 7 in protest against the Vigilance Bureau’s (VB) action against government officials in a land fraud case.

The decision comes after the VB arrested a sub-registrar, a nambardar, a registry clerk, and others for their alleged involvement in the fraudulent sale of an NRI’s 14-kanal land in Noorpur Bet village. The land, valued at approximately ₹6 crore, was reportedly sold for just ₹30 lakh using an imposter.

On Monday, members of various revenue unions, including the Punjab Revenue Officers’ Association and Punjab Revenue Kanungo Association, gathered at Guru Nanak Bhawan in Ludhiana to oppose the vigilance action. Association president Lachhman Singh criticized the FIR against officials, claiming their statements were not recorded before the case was registered. He demanded a fair investigation and insisted that no raids or arrests should take place until the probe is completed.

He announced that while other office tasks would continue, property registration work would remain suspended until March 7. The next course of action will be decided in a meeting on that day. Singh also highlighted the heavy workload faced by revenue officials, saying they are required to process over 150 registries daily, making detailed verification difficult.

The vigilance bureau had arrested advocate Gurcharan Singh on February 28 and booked several others, including tehsildar Jagsir Singh Saran, buyer Deepak Goel, nambardar Baghel Singh, registry clerk Krishan Gopal, property dealer Raghbir Singh, an unidentified computer operator, an unidentified imposter, and Amit Gaur.

Meanwhile, revenue officials have warned of exposing documents related to “benami” properties allegedly owned by politicians and vigilance officers if action against their colleagues continues.