RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, June 5: Over 400 ‘well established’, ‘well furnished’ and ‘well occupied’ houses spread in 7-acre area in Shaurya Nagar, about 3km from the present Hethu side boundary of Birsa Munda Airport, are facing demolition due to acts and omission of the land and revenue department.
Among those one is Veenita Guriya, widow of an IPS officer J.D.H. Guriya, who was awarded the President’s medal twice for his distinguished services besides other retired police officials, intelligence bureau officials, Khatiyani raiyats, businessman and others.
Guriya (70), preparing for her daughter’s marriage on June 17, informed about the situation to Lagatar24.com saying she was having a sleepless night and help is not coming from any corner.
“Namkum circle officer has termed us encroachers and reached in my locality on June 1 with an earth mover though my husband, who retired as DIG of Jharkhand police, constructed a house on my 22 decimal land in 2004 after proper registration and mutation of land. We have power connection and Ranchi Municipal Corporation holding number. We also paid land rent till March 2023,” she said.
“When in 2008 it came to our notice that the land had been acquired for the airport expansion we contacted the deputy collector (land and revenue) and other officials but all falsified the information and now after 15 years the CO comes with earth movers without any rehabilitation and compensation plan,” Guriya, discussing the marriage plan with Pasto, said.
Kunti Yadav (75), wife of a retired police official, broke down in tears explaining her problem.
“My husband has a cardiac problem. I have been staying in the house with my three sons and three daughters-in-law besides grandsons and granddaughter since January, 2008. During the past 15 years no one turned up to disturb us. Then all of a sudden the Namkum circle officer turns up and says he will take possession of the land after trampling us. He claimed that the land was acquired in June 2008 and we have been paid compensation which is far from truth. During the last 15 years if any circle office official would have come, some way had been found out as we are also not against any development but the way the administration is trying to use its force without considering our rehabilitation and compensation is pathetic,” she said.
Yadav and Guriya are not only two, there are hundreds of people like them.
Jyoti Sinha, another land owner, shared the same problem. “I had purchased the land from Chhabi Rani Ghosh, a resident of Bhagalpur, on March 20, 2014 after payment of Rs Rs 6.50 lakh. On October 6, 2015 formalities of mutation also got completed at Namkum circle office. I constructed a house in a 1600 square area. I got a power connection. I took the Ranchi Municipal Corporation holding number. I started paying the rent. I paid the rent till March 2023. All of a sudden a notice was sent to me terming me as an encroacher. I challenged the notice before the CO but none heard me. I am facing demolition threat,” she said.
Sinha said after the villagers took exception the district administration, who earlier set a narrative that villagers do not want to leave despite taking compensation, has now deputed a land acquisition officer to take papers.
The residents have knocked the door of principal secretary of the chief minister Vandana Dadel and also judicial remedy but so far threats to their existence continue.
An official at the circle office said all this is happening at the behest of an Aamin, Ajay, who was a land broker before he was given the job of a surveyor. “Ajay is giving misleading information to the CO, who without applying his mind and taking action in the name of a union government project for vested interest.”
Contacted CO Vinod Prajapati for his comment, he directed the question towards land acquisition officer Anjana Das in the matter. Das parried reply saying she was not authorised to speak in the matter. She informed that a chief secretary level meeting will take place on the issue. An insider said Das along with her staff has started working. “Since the matter is old and many mutations took place after acquisition problems arose. The matter is complicated,” the official said.
A villager said the CO took the issue to his court on June 16. “If some positive development does not take place, villagers will chalk out a strategy to intensify agitation. When development takes place, land owners should be properly benefitted,” he said.
