2,000 hectares of land freed from clutches of mafia: MP CM

Madhya Pradesh Chief MinisterShivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday claimed that around 2,000-hectares of land, worth Rs 10,000 crore and grabbed by landmafia, has been freed in the state.

The government has also acted against chit fundcompanies which duped people and forced such firms to returninvestors' deposits, he was quoted as saying by an officialrelease.

As much as 2,000 hectares of land worth around Rs10,000 crore has been freed from the illegal possession of1,271 persons during an ongoing campaign, he told ministersbefore a cabinet meeting.

''The campaign against mafia will continue,'' he said.

He also informed that a total of Rs 800 crore wererefunded to about 50,000 depositors defrauded by chit fundcompanies.

Six manufacturing units were demolished during a driveagainst food adulteration, he said.

Action was taken against 331 people involved in blackmarketing of food grains meant for Public Distribution System(PDS) shops, the CM informed.

Under `Operation Muskaan' to search for missingchildren, 9,500 children, 80 percent of them girls, werereunited with their parents, he said.