Ex Surat Collector Ayush Oak Entangled in Another Land Scam worth Rs 100 crore

SURAT : The Gujarat government’s revenue department is in trouble after former Surat district collector Ayush Oak was implicated in yet another alleged property fraud involving more than Rs 150 crore. This time, Oak is accused of conspiring with land brokers to convert government wasteland into private property, leading in losses of nearly Rs 65 crore worth of premium money income to the state exchequer.

According to the fraud, 18,917 square meters of government wasteland in Khajod, Surat which was originally designated for agricultural use under the Nav Sadhya scheme, was converted into non-agricultural land by former Surat district collector. According to sources, Oak collaborated with land brokers Tejas Taliya and Yogesh Topi to rezone the site for non-agricultural use. This unlawful conduct caused the government Rs 60 crore worth of loss amount of money.

According to reports, two land brokers, Hiren Dharmendra Taliya and Dharmendra Taliya, have allies who have applied for the conversion by 2021. Surprisingly, Oak apparently authorized the modification within 24 hours, despite the fact that the land is designated for agricultural use. This rapid approval raises concerns about suspected land record manipulation to justify the scam.

According to the findings, a farmer named Kanji Madhu first got the land in 1950 for agricultural purposes. After his death in 1980, his family inherited the land rights. But after his heirs died in 1981, the government handed the land to other villagers. These individuals reportedly colluded with the brokers and Oak to fraudulently sell government-owned land.

Following Oak’s  suspension on June 10 for allegedly registering tenant names on valuable government land in Dumas, resulting in a loss of Rs 2,000 crore, this latest fraud emerges. Dr. Tushar Chaudhary, a Congress MLA, specifically disclosed Oak’s involvement in two fraudulent transactions. Dr. Chaudhary has requested a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the alleged fraudulent activity and recover the stolen funds.

Despite a previous inquiry in 2015 confirming that the land belonged to the state, Dr. Chaudhary accuses Oak of changing land records in Dumas by enrolling “tenants” on government land worth Rs 2,000 crore. The stated actions of Oak raise serious concerns about land management system corruption.