A common village courtyard shared by four families, an open area between houses containing a stepwell, a platform at the village bus stand: Public spaces like these were among more than 50 properties found recorded in the name of a revenue official and his wife in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district.

As the matter came to light earlier this week, the official, Rajesh Mandloi, was suspended.

Mandloi was earlier posted as patwari, a revenue official responsible for maintaining land records, in Kolgaon.

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During scrutiny of records prepared under the MP government’s Swamitva land-rights scheme, the properties were found in the names of Mandloi and his wife Manisha. Of the 51 properties, 48 were recorded in Mandloi’s name and three in his wife’s name.

The matter came to light after the list of properties prepared under the scheme was released and villagers began checking the ownership entries. A subsequent revenue inquiry found irregularities and led to Mandloi’s suspension.

Khandwa Collector Rishabh Gupta said the administration had received information that a patwari had entered plots in his own name and those of his family members under the Swamitva scheme. “The matter was investigated and the complaint was found to be correct, following which the patwari was suspended and a departmental inquiry initiated,” Gupta said.

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“The names of Mandloi and his wife had allegedly been deliberately entered in government land records under the Adhikar Abhilekh Yojana in Kolgaon. Mandloi was suspended with immediate effect under Rule 9 of the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1966,” said a district official.

The case has raised questions over how the disputed entries passed through the various stages involved in preparing and approving rural property records.

How does the Swamitva process work

Under the Swamitva process, rural residential areas are surveyed and property records prepared before claims and objections are invited. At the village level, the process involves the sarpanch, secretary, patwari and other members. The draft is subsequently examined by the revenue officer concerned before claims and objections are dealt with and the final record is approved.

In Kolgaon, 935 property titles were prepared under the scheme. The discovery of 51 entries in the names of the patwari and his wife has raised questions over how the disputed entries were recorded, verified and cleared.

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District officials listed a number of properties under scrutiny. These include a plot where the Balahi community had begun constructing a ceremonial hall. Construction had reached the plinth stage before work was stopped after the ownership record came to light.

A residential property belonging to a villager identified as Baliram was also allegedly found recorded in Mandloi’s name under survey number 530.

The discrepancies had allegedly been noticed earlier during the preparation of residential land records in 2023-24. The former village sarpanch had raised the issue with the then patwari and was told that the records would be corrected. The matter resurfaced after the Swamitva list was released, officials said.

“Following the complaint, the current patwari, Rakesh Patel, carried out verification of the relevant survey numbers and compared the records with the properties being used by residents,” the official said.

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The administration’s departmental inquiry is now expected to establish how the 51 entries were created, who verified them and whether other officials were involved in preparing or approving the records.