Demand for CBI inquiry into Rajasthan government's "fraudulant land grab" of Gandhian institution

Vasundhara Raje

By Our Representative
Prominent Gandhians and civil society activists have taken strong exception to the Government of Rajasthan’s recent “forcible acquisition” of the land belonging to the Rajasthan Samagra Sewa Sangh (RSSS), a well-known Gandhian institution in Jaipur, terming it “atrocious” and “fraudulent”. Saying it signifies how the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government is involved in a major land scam, larger than Mumbai’s Adarsh scam, a statement issued in Delhi said, “This is, no doubt, an attempt to towards land grabbing. It is an assault on the Gandhian ideology, for which active cadres for which the BJP and the RSS, are known for”.
In a joint statement, Sawai Singh, senior Gandhian, president of the Rajasthan Samagra Sewa Sangh; Radha Behen Bhatt, Surendra Kumar and Anupam Mishra of the Gandhi Peace Foundation; Ramchandra Rahi of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi; Medha Patkar of the National Alliance of People’s Movements; and Kavita Srivastava of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, said, “We consider it atrocious that the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA), directly under the chief minister of Rajasthan, has grabbed the land once purchased by the eminent Gandhians including Gokulbhai Bhatt, Gandhi of Rajasthan”.
“The land, 9.75 bighas, was no doubt acquired for the Jaipur airport project, but the process of acquisition was left incomplete. Therefore, the land that was leased out to RSSS, the original owner, continues to remain with it. Apart from questioning the lease operation, it is certainly obnoxious that a part of that land (0.75 bigha) which was transferred to the Gokul Vatika Krishi Sahakari Samiti, another old Gandhian organization, for agricultural experiments, has been fraudulently changed from
agricultural cooperative to housing cooperative at the behest of some IAS officers of JDA as well as the the minister of urban development.”

Gandhian institute premises: Victim of land grab

“JDA taking forceful possession of RSSS premises, on June 7 with police force and without any prior notice, evicting the resident Gandhian workers, is obviously an attempt to grab the prime land which has become worth Rs 1500 crore”, the statement said, adding, “Instead of enquiring into the fraud committed the Gokul Vatika Krishi Sahakari Samiti, JDA and the state government have acted in protection and promotion of the land grab.”

The statement further says, “Even if it is presumed that the 9.75 bighas of land belonging to RSSS since 1959 was acquired by the JDA in 1984 and compensation deposited in the treasury, the Gandhians are in possession of the land till date.” Since even after five years remained with the RSSS, “the latest acquisition violates clause 24 (2) of the Fair Compensation, Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Act, 2013” and “the encroachment by the JDA in June 2014 is a serious crime that cannot be forgiven and forgotten.”
Demanding a CBI inquiry into the “fraud committed by the JDA”, the statement demands return of the land and possession back to the RSSS with dignity and paying for all the damages; and acceptance of the fact that under the new Act the land vests with the RSSS in spite of the old acquisition, which was never effected.