Even govt lands have been grabbed by fraudsters: Goa CM

Even government lands have been sold off or acquired fraudulently by the land mafia in the state, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Thursday.

A day before, the state government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe land grabbing matters.

Police have received many complaints of fraudulent sales of land and even government lands have been grabbed in this way, Sawant told reporters.

The Archaeology department and Registration department have also lodged complaints of fraudulent land transactions, he added.

The problem of land grabbing and illegal transfers is acute in the coastal area where the demand for real estate is very high, the CM noted.

Around 70 cases of land grabbing would be handed over to the SIT, he said.