What Happened
- Two revenue officials in Chhattisgarh — a former tehsildar of Abhanpur and a former naib tehsildar of Gobra-Nawapara — were arrested for their alleged involvement in misappropriation of land compensation funds meant for the Bharatmala Pariyojana road project.
- The fraud relates to the Raipur-Visakhapatnam economic corridor, part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana, where land acquisition was carried out during 2021-22.
- Officials allegedly conspired with patwaris, revenue inspectors, and land brokers to manipulate revenue records, create fake beneficiaries, and divert compensation meant for genuine landowners — resulting in losses exceeding Rs 32 crore to the state exchequer.
- The State Economic Offences Investigation and Anti-Corruption Bureau initiated the case and secured custodial remand from the Special Court for further investigation.
- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has separately conducted raids at nine locations across Chhattisgarh as part of a broader investigation into the same scam, with total losses estimated at over Rs 100 crore across related cases.
Static Topic Bridges
Bharatmala Pariyojana — India's Flagship Highway Development Programme
Bharatmala Pariyojana is a centrally sponsored umbrella programme for highway development approved by the Government of India in October 2017. Implemented by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), it aims to optimise the efficiency of freight movement across the country by bridging critical infrastructure gaps through economic corridors, inter-corridor routes, feeder routes, and national corridor efficiency improvements.
- Approved: October 2017 by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
- Phase I target: 34,800 km of highways (including 10,000 km of balance NHDP works)
- Estimated cost of Phase I: Rs 5,35,000 crore (total including subsumed projects: Rs 6,92,324 crore)
- Components: 9,000 km of Economic Corridors, 6,000 km of Inter-Corridor/Feeder Routes, 5,000 km of National Corridor Efficiency Improvement
- Original timeline: 2017-18 to 2021-22 (5 years) — significantly delayed
- Progress as of October 2024: 26,425 km awarded, 18,714 km constructed
- Implementing agency: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under MoRTH
Connection to this news: The Raipur-Visakhapatnam economic corridor where the fraud occurred is one of the key economic corridors under Bharatmala Phase I. The land acquisition process for such mega highway projects involves large compensation payouts, creating opportunities for revenue officials to manipulate records and divert funds if oversight mechanisms fail.
Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act (RFCTLARR), 2013
The RFCTLARR Act, 2013, replaced the colonial-era Land Acquisition Act of 1894 to ensure a humane, participative, and transparent process for land acquisition. It mandates fair compensation, rehabilitation, and resettlement for all affected families — not just landowners but also tenants, labourers, and others dependent on the land. The Act introduced Social Impact Assessment (SIA) as a mandatory pre-acquisition step.
- Enacted: September 2013; operational from January 1, 2014
- Compensation: 4 times market value in rural areas, 2 times in urban areas (plus solatium of 100%)
- Social Impact Assessment (SIA) mandatory before acquisition — must assess whether benefits outweigh social costs
- Consent requirement: 80% of affected families for private projects; 70% for PPP projects; not required for government projects
- Rehabilitation and Resettlement: alternative land or housing, one-time resettlement allowance of Rs 50,000, subsistence grant of Rs 3,000/month for one year, preference in employment
- Special protections for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under Section 41
- Section 24: Deals with cases where acquisition proceedings were initiated under the 1894 Act but not completed
- Several states (including Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra) have amended the central Act to dilute consent and SIA provisions for their projects
Connection to this news: The compensation fraud exploited the very mechanism the RFCTLARR Act designed to protect landowners. Officials allegedly manipulated land records to create fake beneficiaries and paid compensation for already-acquired land, diverting funds that should have reached genuine landowners. This highlights the gap between the Act's protective intent and on-ground implementation where revenue records remain vulnerable to tampering.
Anti-Corruption Framework — Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
The Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), 1988 is the primary legislation for combating corruption by public servants in India. Amended significantly in 2018, the Act defines offences of bribery, criminal misconduct, and misappropriation by public servants. Section 13 deals with criminal misconduct, which includes dishonest or fraudulent misappropriation of property entrusted to a public servant.
- Original enactment: 1988; major amendment: Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018
- Section 7: Taking undue advantage or gratification (bribery)
- Section 13: Criminal misconduct — includes dishonest misappropriation of property entrusted to a public servant
- 2018 Amendment: introduced Section 17A requiring prior approval from the competent authority before investigation (for serving officials)
- Enforcement agencies: CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), State Anti-Corruption Bureaus/Economic Offences Wings
- Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013: provides for ombudsman at central (Lokpal) and state (Lokayukta) levels
- Special Courts designated for trial of corruption cases to expedite proceedings
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002: ED investigates proceeds of crime; can attach property of accused
Connection to this news: The arrested officials face charges under the PCA for criminal misconduct involving misappropriation of public funds. The involvement of both the State ACB/EOW (for the corruption offence) and the Enforcement Directorate (for money laundering and proceeds of crime) demonstrates the multi-agency approach India uses for tackling corruption in public projects.
Key Facts & Data
- Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase I: 34,800 km target, Rs 5,35,000 crore estimated cost (approved October 2017)
- Progress (as of October 2024): 26,425 km awarded, 18,714 km constructed
- Compensation fraud in Chhattisgarh: losses of Rs 32 crore in the specific case; over Rs 100 crore across related cases
- RFCTLARR Act, 2013: compensation at 4x market value (rural) and 2x market value (urban)
- Land acquisition for the Raipur-Visakhapatnam corridor was carried out during 2021-22
- ED conducted raids at 9 locations across Chhattisgarh in the ongoing investigation
- Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988: Section 13 — criminal misconduct by public servants
- Over 150 suspicious account holders identified in the broader investigation