By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 3 Dec: The Uttarakhand Police and Government have been recently lauding themselves for taking strict action against land mafia. However, in several cases, the local police and the revenue officials continue to ignore complaints by the affected persons and fail to take effective action against the land mafia. In certain cases, even the stay orders issued by the courts have failed to jolt the officials and the police and take action against the land mafia.
Attempts to encroach on private property belonging to Navdanya Farms and then construct a private road on it is one such case where, despite stay orders, efforts have continued to construct a road on private property. It may be recalled that Garhwal Post had published reports about previous attempts to encroach on this land owned by Navdanya, which is a trust founded by its Managing Trustee Dr Vandana Shiva, who is a leading environmentalist and activist for traditional organic cultivation of native species of grains. Garhwal Post had not only published at least two reports (one of which was published on 28 September 2023) but also spoken to the local Tehsildar and SDM. They had claimed that no encroachment would be permitted. Their version had also been published in the report on 28 September, 2023.
Speaking to Garhwal Post, Dr Vandana Shiva claimed that another recent effort was made by the encroachers on 26 December. She stated that, when she arrived at the Navdanya Farm on 26 December, 2023, she was aghast to see a JCB machine on the private property owned by Navdanya and inflicting damage. Some trucks and tractors were also present at the site, which were unloading cement, sand and other building material on the Navdanya land. When Dr Vandana Shiva enquired from them why they were present on Navdanya property (Khasra Number 1000 Ka) and who permitted them to enter it, three encroachers along with Zila Panchayat member Rajesh Baluni claimed that the Zila Panchayat had issued orders to construct a road on the said property. They also provided a one page order of the Zila Panchayat which said that permission is granted under File Number 63 and Subject- Singhniwala, Mauza Sheeshambada (Ramgarh) to construct a concrete road from Main Road, Shimla Bypass, to Anil Bhardwaj’s house. Incidentally, the reality is that Bhardwaj’s house is already connected by a concrete road. According to Dr Vandana Shiva, as the road to Bhardwaj’s house already exists there is no need to construct another road, in particular, on Navdanya property.
Dr Shiva further stated that the stay order issued by the court was shown to the police officials, who intervened and stopped the construction activity. She feels that it is obvious that the Zila Panchayat had not been informed by the encroachers that there is a stay order on construction on the private property of Navdanya Trust. She reminded that it is the third time when attempts have been made to encroach on the Navdanya property in clear violation of the stay orders, as well as in clear violation of the property rights of Navdanya Trust as established by the Court orders and through multiple inspections by the Revenue Department.
Dr Shiva further reminded that, earlier, the Mandi Samiti had also been similarly misled on false grounds. The Mandi Samiti had approved “a concrete road in village Singhniwala from the main road to Anil Bhardwaj`s house”. And now the Zila Panchayat also accorded a similar sanction despite the fact that, in reality, such a road already exists. She also pointed out that the concrete road from the main road to Anil Bhardwaj`s house is estimated to have cost Rs 2 lakhs but an amount of Rs 5.70 lakhs was sanctioned. She alleged that under pretext of these sanctions, attempts are being made to construct an illegal road on Navdanya Property. The Mandi Samiti had sanctioned an amount of Rs 23 lakhs for this road, while the Zila Panchayat had approved Rs 5.70 lakhs. Dr Vandana Shiva alleges that the excess sanction had been intended to construct the illegal road on Navdanya property. She also reminded that following publication of the news in Garhwal Post, last time, a demarcation exercise had been done in favour of Navdanya Trust by the revenue officials. Despite this, both, the Mandi Samiti and the Zila Panchayat were kept in the dark about the land being private and about the stay order issued by the Court on Khasra Numbers 1000 Ka and Ga. She alleged that one of the persons involved in this activity has a property in his mother’s name on Khasra Number 904 B and he had started constructing a road on a Khala located on 1000 Gha and concretised also a 6 foot dirt road throughout the Navdanya campus into a 12 foot concrete road over 537 feet, 5 inches. The illegal construction was only stopped on 22 September, 2023, after the Mandi Samiti stopped the illegal construction activity when it was informed about the facts regarding the stay order and the fact that the road was being constructed not on public land but on the private land of Navdanya Trust.
Dr Shiva also remined that another attempt was made to start construction on Khasra Number 1,000 Ga owned by Navdanya and on Khasra number 1000 Gha which is a Khala where construction is not permissible. She also informed that there is no habitation south of Navdanya property, where it is a forest. There is no ground whatsoever for the Mandi Samiti to construct this road, besides the fact that there is stay order on construction granted by the court and any construction on the said property is a clear violation. Dr Shiva said that the encroachers had claimed that they were constructing a road not on land 1000 Ga owned by Navdanya but on 1,000 Gha. However, the revenue team had conducted measurement and the demarcation and had concluded that the construction was being done on Khasra Number 1000 Ga which is owned by Navdanya. That time, the construction was then stopped by the encroachers. Shiva said that, this time, instead of the Mandi Samiti, the Zila Panchayat had been manipulated and a similar attempt made on 26 December. The pattern of manipulation of the Mandi Samiti has now been repeated with the Zila Panchayat. She said that mainly three persons are involved in this repeated attempt to encroach on Navdanya property. The Trust has thrice filed contempt cases in the court concerned on 12 September, 2022, 8 March, 2023, and 19 September, 2023, respectively.
