Tamil Nadu: Beware of fake govt letter head, directing linking of land records with Aadhaar
- The letter on the government letter head created panic in Tamil Nadu.
- It said that people need to link their land records with Aadhaar cards to avoid being called benaami.
- The fake missive was dated June 15, 2017 and addressed to chief secretaries, additional chief secretaries, lieutenant- governor of Delhi and secretary of NITI Ayog.
FollowA 'letter' printed on Union Cabinet Secretary's letterhead, stating that linking land records with Aadhaar card is mandatory, is fake and does not have any government backing. While the alleged rumour has already created a buzz among the people in Tamil Nadu. Â The letter further stated that Aadhar must be made mandatory to prevent benaami transactions and if that is not done, action will be taken against the land owner.Â
The letter was shared widely on social media App WhatsApp and created quite a flurry. However, when media houses spoke to the office of commissioner for land administration here, it said that no such letter was issued and neither did it get any communication from the Center. Speaking to the TOI, a top official said, "We have never seen any missive from the union government regarding this. If at all the cabinet secretariat from the national capital writes to state government, it will be addressed to chief secretary and not as mentioned in the communication."
This letter, viral on social media, directing land records to be linked to #Aadhar is fake, says Govt. Check @DG_PIB Frank Noronha's tweet pic.twitter.com/42qDu8po89
— Dennis Marcus Mathew (@dennismarcus) June 19, 2017
The Centre too confirmed that the letter attributed to the cabinet secretariat on digitalisation and subsequent linking of land records to Aadhaar was fake and mischievious.
The fake missive was dated June 15, 2017 and addressed to chief secretaries, additional chief secretaries, lieutenant- governor of Delhi and secretary of NITI Ayog.The letter was undersigned by Sheo Nath Singh, under secretary to the government of India. The letter said that:
"Chief secretaries and additional chief secretaries of states and Union territories must complete the digitisation of land records, mutation records, sale and purchase records from year 1950 of any immovable property by August 14, 2017. The Union of India by the Act of Parliament is considering linking Aadhar number with the ownership of said properties"
When TOI contacted Sheo Nath Singh, he said that the letter was fake and should not be taken seriously. He further added, "A complaint would be lodged against the persons for floating such hoax letter on WhatsApp groups." Apart from that the Press Information Bureau also said that the letter was completely fake. It said, "Government of India has issued no such letter. A police complaint has been filed in this regard and the matter is being investigated."
