Jhargram district administration officials have started the process of recovering a stretch of land worth Rs 6 crore, which had been allotted to families belonging to the Lodha community by the state government in 2003 and was allegedly grabbed fraudulently by a group of people, including a civic volunteer, last year.

A team of officials headed by subdivisional officer Babulal Mahato on Wednesday inspected the land and issued directives for legal action against those involved in the expropriation of the tribal land.

Sources said a civic volunteer and some others had fraudulently changed the records of the 2.52 acre-plot allegedly with the help of a section of land department officials.

The administration has initiated steps to recover the land after the preliminary investigation established the plot’s illegal ownership.

“That land was given to families by the government under the Lodha development scheme. In an enquiry, it was found that the land was taken over illegally by a group of few people. According to the government’s order, we will return the land to the actual allottees and take legal action against those involved in the crime,” said SDO Mahato.

The plot is located near Jhargram police line and its present market price is around Rs 6 crore.

A series of complaints from the representatives of Lodha community was registered with the district administration in the Jungle Mahal as well as the office of chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Representatives of the Lodha community had also raised the issue before Mamata at an administrative meeting held in Midnapore in May.

Sources said a large number of tribal people, including those from the Lodha and Sabar communities — identified as a primitive tribe group — had been provided with free land by the government, mostly during the erstwhile Left Front government, in a bid to bring them to the mainstream society. But in recent years, several properties belonging to those people were reportedly grabbed or sold illegally.

“We are happy that the government will finally return the plots to our people. There are so many instances of others grabbing our land. We hope the government will do the needful in other cases also,” said Khagendranath Mandi, the president of the Lodha Sabar Kalyan Samity in Jhargram.