Bolpur: Nobel laureate Amartya Sen said that the Department of Land and Land Reforms had registered the entire land in his name as per the will of his father late Ashutosh Sen. "The land was in my father's name, after that the land should have been in my name, so that's it. Block Land and Land Reforms Officer (BL&RO) has done it from their office," Amartya Sen said at Santiniketan before leaving the country on Thursday.
The 1.38 decimal land of the 'Pratichi' house was registered in the name of Amartya Sen by the West Bengal government. Sen came to Santiniketan's 'Pratichi' house on January 16. This time, he stayed put in Santiniketan for more than one month.
Sen was accused of occupying the land by the Visva-Bharati authorities. The varsity authorities have sent three letters and asked for the return of the land. There has been a lot of debate on the issue. According to Visva-Bharati's complaint, a total of 1.38 decimals of land was occupied by Sen, out of which, 1.25 decimals of land is recorded in the name of Bharat Ratna Amartya Sen.
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Visva-Bharati's complaint was that Amartya Sen is occupying 13 decimals of extra land. In this regard, Amartya Sen's lawyer Gorachand Chakraborty presented the will of the late Ashutosh Sen of the Bolpur Land and Land Reforms Department. It states that the 'Pratichi' land will go to his wife Amita Sen after his death, followed by his son Amartya Sen.
In view of the will, Visva-Bharati's lawyer Sucharita Biswas also submitted several documents to the Bolpur Land and Land Reform Department. A hearing was held on February 20 before Land and Land Reforms Officer Sanjay Das. Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen left Santiniketan for abroad. While leaving home, Dr Amartya Sen said he would return in July.
Amartya Sen said, "There is no room for pain. The land was in my father's name, it should have been in my name after him. That's it. BL&M has done it from the office. There was no reason for it not to be done. My father's will says that my mother will get this land after his death. Subsequently, that was transferred to me when my mother died."
