Four months ago, the first notice was sent to the trust to explain how it came to use the government plot. (Source: Google News)
The Rae Bareli district administration has asked the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust to vacate land it has “encroached” upon with immediate effect.
The trust was running the Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana on 10,000 sqm of land in the Jais area of Rae Bareli. Four months ago, the first notice was sent to the trust to explain how it came to use the government plot. The Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana, a project to give training to women connected to 1.25 lakh self-help groups, was close to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s heart, and the August 4 dated order is a setback for the Congress.
“It was government land, which was set aside to open a vocational training institute, but no records show why it was being used by the Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojna. In the past few months, several notices were served on the trust to explain the use of the land but they failed to clarify the matter. Thus, looking into the facts, I have issued a final order to vacate the land,” Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Tiloi, Ashok Kumar Shukla, told The Indian Express.
The August 4 order said the trust and the Pariyojana were given enough time to explain themselves, but failed to submit records to show their right to use the land in Jais. It further said that the land had been registered in the government records as “vocational training centre, Jais”, adding that the trust had no right to use the land. The order asked the Tiloi tehsildar to ensure that the “anadhikar kabja” is removed with immediate effect.
The Congress alleged political vendetta behind the move. “This has been done by the administration under the pressure of Smriti Irani, who had contested an election from here. The land was being used for empowerment of women and nothing else. No political activity was being done,” said Congress district president Yogendra Mishra.
Earlier, the Congress had claimed the land was not being used for long by the trust, which had got its allotment. Thus, in collaboration with the trust, it was being used by the Pariyojana. One member of the self-help group had moved the court regarding the land. Asked about the case in court, Shukla said: “The court in its order dated May 18, 2017, had asked the district administration to take the final decision in the matter, considering the reply of the notices served by us. The opposite party then went for a review appeal in the high court, which was rejected on July 7, 2017, and thus the earlier ordered remained as it is.”
