M A I N   N E W S

Faridkot Maharaja's land in HP stirs up row
Balwant Garg/TNS

THE CONTROVERSY Over 280 bigha land belonging to erstwhile Maharaja of Faridkot at Mashobra in Shimla has been declared surplus by the Himachal Government and steps have been initiated to vest it in the state The Maharawal Khewaji Trust, which is registered in Punjab, has on the other hand claimed that the HP High Court had decreed the land in its favour about a decade ago and mutation of the land was also entered in the revenue records

Faridkot, September 12
The Himachal Pradesh (HP) Government’s move to take over 280 bigha land belonging of the erstwhile Maharaja of Faridkot at Mashobra in Shimla has triggered a controversy.

The government has declaring the land as surplus and reportedly started the process to vest it in the state. The owner of the land in Punjab — the Maharawal Khewaji Trust (MKT) — has termed the move as illegal. It is contempt of court, the trust maintains.

Over a decade after the HP High Court decreed the land in favour of the MKT and mutation of the land was entered in the revenue records, the state government has declared it as surplus. "We have planned legal action against the HP Government for these misdemeanours," said Ranjit Singh Wahniwal, a senior advocate and member of the trust. Sometime ago a BJP MLA had raised the question of ownership of this land in the budget session of HP.

The MLA not only termed it as a case of surplus land, but also called it "benami". The state government later started the process to trace names and addresses of its trustees, claiming the details were not available in revenue records. Some days ago, the process ended with the finding that no trustees could be found. The MKT is not registered in Himachal Pradesh and even inquiries from Faridkot and the Punjab Government failed to trace the name of the trustees, claimed the inquiry officer.

The inquiry officer termed the land as "benami" and made a recommendation to vest the land in the Himachal Pradesh Government. The six trustees of the MKT in Faridkot were shocked to know that the HP Government could not trace them. It is amazing that the HP Government could not trace the trustees even after approaching the Punjab Government. The names and addresses of all trustees were mentioned in the petition filed in the High Court, said Lalit Gupta, executive head of the trust.

The Deputy Commissioner’s office at Faridkot also claimed that it never received any inquest from Himachal about the names and addresses of the MKT trustees.