Baitulmal Girls’ High School in Narkeldanga. (Above) Vested land located behind its campus has been allotted for expansion of the school by the land and land reforms department. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha

Subhadyuti Datta: Several thousand bighas of khas land (government land) at various places have been illegally sold out by unscrupulous brokers. The purchasers have been living in their own constructions on them for the past 30 to 40 years. What is their official status now?

It is wrong to purchase khas land or vested land, knowingly or unknowingly, as the buyer will never get the plot mutated in his name despite having a registered sale deed. The buyer should always verify the status of the plot with the block land and land reforms office (BLLRO) before making the deal.

A vast tract of khas land stretching from Dum Dum to Palta has been illegally sold out to private parties, who have been living in their own buildings there for decades. We have recently given them a proposal to come into a long-term lease agreement with the state government by coughing up the price of the land at current market rates. However, the response is not at all encouraging.