Team Herald
PANJIM: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday booked former State Tourism Minister Nilkant Halarnkar and Director of Municipal Administration & Inspector General of Prison Elvis Gomes in connection with a land scam.
Halarnkar who was then chairman of Goa Housing Board and Gomes the then managing director of the board are accused of converting land by acquiring it and handing it back to the original owner.
“The offence happened between 2007 and 2011 which involves 30,226 sq mtr of land in Margao,” Superintendent of Police (ACB) Vimal Gupta said.
He said the Housing Board had initiated the process of acquiring land in Margao to construct dwellings. “The board had completed all the formalities and even changed the zone from orchard to settlement. The Housing Board had even applied for final settlement under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act from the Revenue Department,” Gupta said.
In an interesting twist, the board after converting the land returned it to the original owner, based upon an application from one Vincent Gracias that he is the cultivator of the land. Gupta said the application was bereft of any supporting documents.
ACB said the main intention of the acquisition process was to convert the zoning into residential at the cost of the exchequer and hand it back to the owner.
Both accused have been booked under Section 120-B, 420 of the IPC and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Halarnkar, who was then in the NCP, recently joined the Congress and has been appointed Vice President of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee.
