The department has booked 10 government officials, including Madhubani Land Acquisition officer Shyam Kishore Prasad in this connection.

The other arrested officers include Assistant Engineer Ramprit Roy, Junior Engineer S K Mahto, Block Kanungo Shivlal Paswan and Amins (land measurer), Javachh Yadav and Gulab Roy. Four officials, including a retired executive engineer, Ramanad Singh, are absconding.

Vigilance Additional Director General Neelmani said: “We are assessing the illegal payment amount in 30 cases; the fund misappropriation can be more than Rs 1 crore. All illegal payments were made during the past one year.”

The department will also search Shyam Kishore Prasad’s Patna residence in order to find more evidence.

Neelmani said that the department officials have questioned a dozen farmers and house-owners, who could be the potential beneficiaries in the project. He added that the Government has so far given compensations worth Rs 40 crore for acquiring land for a 40 km-stretch in Madhubani.

Neelmani said the land acquisition officials flouted NH Act 1956 by adopting “pick and choose” method for selecting beneficiaries and paying them “extra” compensation.

The officials reportedly connived with beneficiaries to change land categories in official records. Non-commercial plots were changed to commercial plots, non-residential to residential, brick and mud houses to pucca ones, one-floor houses to two-floor ones — all in order to get extra payment. In certain cases, a plot was put in two categories simultaneously, one house was recorded twice, and the measures of plots were altered to suit the beneficiaries.

Trailing the scam

•The Bihar Government has so far given compensations worth Rs 40 crore for acquiring land on a 40 km-stretch in Madhubani

•Illegal payments have been made allegedly in at least 30 cases

•The State Vigilance Department has so far booked 10 government officials

•The officials reportedly connived with beneficiaries to change land categories in official records

•They also adopted “pick and choose” method for selecting beneficiaries and paying them “extra” compensation