Two Mizoram officials jailed for issuing fake land certificates linked to Kaladan project

A special court in Aizawl has sentenced two officials of the Land Revenue Department under the Lai Autonomous District Council (LADC) in Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district to one-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for their role in issuing fake land settlement certificates (LSCs). 

The verdict was delivered on Monday by Special Court (Prevention of Corruption) judge F. Rohlupuia, an official confirmed on Tuesday.

The convicted officials, T. Zairikhima and B. Hrangchhuma, both serving as circle supervisors, were also fined ₹1.10 lakh each. They were found guilty of fraudulently issuing LSCs to landowners whose properties were allegedly acquired for the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP).

The case had initially implicated 120 landowners suspected of colluding in the fraudulent issuance. However, the court acquitted all of them due to lack of sufficient evidence, despite indications from the investigation that several LSCs had been processed under suspicious circumstances, including on weekends and government holidays.

The KMMTTP, a key bilateral project between India and Myanmar launched in 2008, seeks to boost connectivity between the two nations. Once completed, it will link Kolkata port to Myanmar’s Sittwe port by sea, continue through the Kaladan River to Paletwa, and then connect by road to the India-Myanmar border, eventually reaching Mizoram’s Lawngtlai town.

The conviction underscores the challenges of corruption and fraudulent claims in large-scale infrastructure projects, even as the Kaladan project remains a crucial component of India’s Act East Policy.