Section 90 of Rajasthan Land Revenue Act was misused to benefit colonisers, the commission said
State Commission on urbanisation has acknowledged mass level corruption in land conversion in Rajasthan. In its interim report the commission has categorically said that section 90 of Rajasthan Land Revenue Act was misused to benefit colonisers.
The problem, however, is that the BJP was in power during the period to which the commission’s report has been referring to. Now, the state government has reportedly asked State commission on urbanisation to remove this critical portion. Following the state government’s objection, Urban Development and Housing (UDH) department said to have asked the commission to report such paras from the report. Sources said that the commission has remarked that the section 90B of Rajasthan Land Revenue Act 1956 became a handy tool for mass level corruption through which large land deals were provided legal cover.
In a further comment, the commission has said that the 90B was introduced as onetime programme to regularise illegal colonies; however, later it became a way of income for Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) and other local urban bodies.
The report is said to have taken a positive view of the previous Congress government headed by Ashok Gehlot, saying that to make conversion of agriculture land more transparent, the then Congress government abolished Section 90B and introduced a new Section, 90A, in 2012. Section 90B was introduced by the Congress government in 1999 for conversion of agriculture land for residential and other purposes.