- Senior bureaucrats jointly bought agricultural land in Bhopal.
- Fifty officers from various cadres purchased land in 2022.
- Bypass project approved months after land acquisition.
- Land use changed to residential, increasing its value.
A major land investment involving senior bureaucrats has come to light during scrutiny of immovable property returns (IPR) filed by officers in Madhya Pradesh. According to a report, nearly 50 officers from different parts of the country jointly purchased agricultural land in Guradi Ghat village in Bhopal’s Kolar area on the same day in 2022.
The report by Dainik Bhaskar claims the investors included IAS and IPS officers not only from the Madhya Pradesh cadre, but also officers belonging to Maharashtra, Telangana and Haryana cadres, along with some posted in Delhi.
According to the investigation, around 2.023 hectares of agricultural land were purchased on April 4, 2022, through a single registry document. Fifty individuals were listed as buyers in the transaction. The registry recorded the deal value at Rs 5.5 crore, while the official market valuation was pegged at Rs 7.78 crore.
The buyers reportedly described the transaction in their IPR filings as an investment by “like-minded officers.” However, the report stated that behind the 50 shares, there were effectively 41 actual buyers.
Bypass Project Approved Months After Purchase
As per the report, around 16 months after the land purchase, the Madhya Pradesh cabinet approved the Rs 3,200-crore Western Bypass project on August 31, 2023. The proposed alignment of the bypass reportedly passes nearly 500 metres from the land parcel acquired by the officers.
At the time of purchase, the land was categorised as agricultural. In June 2024, nearly 10 months after the bypass project received approval, the land use was officially changed from agricultural to residential.
The report stated that the five-acre plot, measuring around 2.17 lakh square feet, was purchased in 2022 at an estimated rate of Rs 82 per square foot. Following the land diversion in 2024, the rate reportedly increased to nearly Rs 557 per square foot, taking the estimated value to around Rs 12 crore.
Current market estimates cited in the report suggest land prices in the area now range between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 per square foot, pushing the total estimated value of the same land to nearly Rs 55 crore to Rs 65 crore.
No Housing Society Registered Yet
The investigation further noted that no housing society has yet been registered for the proposed development project. Under existing rules, residential development can only proceed after the land is transferred to a registered housing society or plots are formally allotted.
