PRAYAGRAJ, Nov. 14 -- Land acquired and already developed by the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) has been illegally bought and sold in Prayagraj because the authority's ownership has still not been updated in official revenue records (khatouni). Despite completing land acquisition, transferring possession, and finalising compensation awards, missing entries at the tehsil level have allowed unauthorised individuals to exploit the loophole and trade the properties. Around 14 such cases involving land acquired by PDA in four district tehsils have been reported so far. To curb the illicit transactions, PDA secretary Vineet Kumar Singh has sent a formal reminder to the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of the four tehsils including Sadar, Phulpur, Soraon and Karchana urging officials to promptly record the PDA's name in the revenue records for acquired lands including that in Khanupur, Chak-Hariharban and Pure Surdas villages. According to PDA secretary Vineet Singh, the four district tehsils contain the maximum land acquired by PDA for development, but the authority's ownership of over one-third of this land has yet to be entered in revenue records. Scrupulous elements have exploited this lapse to commit fraud. "Letters have been sent to the SDMs of all four tehsils where such cases were reported, along with a list of land parcels acquired by the PDA. A request was made to ensure the process is completed by year-end so that no more fraud occurs. PDA will lodge an FIR against fraudsters who tried to sell PDA land," he said. Notifications for these parcels were originally issued under Sections 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, after which the then-special land acquisition officer handed over possession to the PDA and declared compensation awards to its original owners. However, the formal land transfer was never completed at the tehsil office, he added. The PDA has already developed residential plots on these sites and handed over possession to some allottees. Following a PDA board resolution passed on March 18, 2026 which mandated 100 percent mutation of all PDA-owned lands through the district magistrate, officials are now moving to expedite record updates in the four district tehsils....