By Bureau Correspondent | Tripura 24.in
AGARTALA | June 7, 2026
AGARTALA: A massive financial and land scandal has rocked Agartala’s commercial heartland following explosive allegations against top executives of the Maharajganj Bazar Committee. The leaders are accused of illegally selling off prime government land belonging to the municipal corporation to private businessmen in exchange for lakhs of rupees.
The illicit transaction came to light today when the Central Market Committee caught laborers constructing a permanent concrete building on the public plot, prompting them to halt work immediately and summon media cells to the spot.
The Modus Operandi: How Public Land Was Secretly Monetized
According to site reports, the controversy involves a vacant plot situated directly behind the Sulabh Shauchalaya (public restroom complex) within the Maharajganj Bazar perimeter.
- The Origin of the Plot: Initially, the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) had temporarily allotted this open space to a few displaced vendors from the nearby ‘Grand News’ area to help them sustain their livelihoods. Once these vendors received permanent Touzi (tax/allotment) registrations, they relocated back to their original commercial zone, leaving the municipal plot vacant.
- The Illegal Deal: Taking advantage of the vacant space, Nakul Debnath (Secretary, Maharajganj Bazar Retail Vegetable Traders’ Association), Bikash Saha (Secretary, Wholesale Market Committee), and Harihar Debnath (Vice President, Khanna Market) allegedly formed a syndicate to illegally broker the government land.
- The Transactions: The trio reportedly sold off a portion of the plot partitioned into two shop spaces to a prominent local blacksmith business owner, Uttam Karmakar, for a staggering ₹20 Lakhs. A second shop plot on the same government parcel was sold to another small-scale retail trader for ₹12 Lakhs.
Central Committee Steps In; Questions Legality of Allotment Papers
The fraudulent operation unraveled today when construction crews attempted to erect a permanent concrete foundation (Dalan Ghar) over the public land. Alert members of the Bazar Central Committee intercepted the construction layout, ordered an immediate halt to the masonry work, and briefed reporters on the ongoing systemic corruption.
”We are absolutely shocked by how casually government land is being chopped up and sold for lakhs of rupees by unauthorized committee executives. This is public property under the Agartala Municipal Corporation. How can a handful of market secretaries sell it off to private parties as if it were their ancestral property?
What is even more alarming is that these buyers are claiming to possess official paperwork and Touzi numbers. We want to know who in the administration issued these documents, or if they are completely forged. We will not allow a single brick of this illegal concrete structure to be laid here. We demand a high-level inquiry into this syndicate,” a senior executive member of the Central Market Committee stated to journalists at the site.
A Growing Menace: Similar Land Scams Reported at Durga Choumuhani Bazar
Market insiders reveal that this land-grabbing racket is not an isolated incident. Severe allegations of a similar nature have been leveled against the temporary management committee of the Durga Choumuhani Bazar.
Local traders allege that the temporary committee there has actively encroached upon multiple public vacant spaces, including areas surrounding the main Durga Choumuhani Fish Market, allowing influential buyers to construct permanent concrete shops in direct violation of municipal urban planning guidelines.
With public anger mounting over the open commercialization of government property by market syndicates, all eyes are now on the Agartala Municipal Corporation and Mayor Dipak Majumder to see what punitive legal actions, eviction drives, and departmental inquiries will be initiated against the accused market leaders.
