Ex-PM146;s Pie up for Grabs

And while the village is divided over exactly how to use the 500 acres of forest land returned, it agrees that Bhondsi must make money from the 52-acre Ashram property 8212; including cottages, guest houses and training centres 8212; vacated by the former PM.

With two months to go for the Supreme Court deadline for the handing over of the land, Bhondsi today is abuzz with the alleged violations committed by the Trust. For one, say Haryana Bijli Board officials, the Trust stopped paying electricity bills from around the time its chairman became the prime minister in 1990. Each time they cut connections to the Bhondsi Ashram, they say, 8216;8216;higher-ups8217;8217; of the Haryana government intervened to ensure it was restored. At present, the Trust has dues of Rs 24 lakhs.

Or listen to sarpanch Raj Kapoor as he takes this correspondent and Haryana Auditor J Dhankar around the Bhondsi8217;s famed Durga Mandir, the newly constructed Ashok Vatika and other Trust properties. 8216;8216;This is what the Supreme Court also saw and that8217;s why they decided to restore the land to us. There was some good use but the Trust also misused the land.8217;8217;

Chandra Shekhar8217;s involvement with Bhondsi goes back to 1983, when he set up his ashram with 33 acres of land gifted by the panchayat. More and more land accrued to the trust, with several strings attached. In 1999, a PIL was filed alleging that the land was being used for reasons other than for those it was given. Through a series of court orders, the former PM is now without almost any land here.

The first setback for Chandra Shekhar came in July 2001, when the Supreme Court ruled in an interim order that the Trust must return to the government the 500 acres the Trust was given for 8216;8216;greening8217;8217;; this would be handed over to the panchayat. The formal handover came a few days later and, within days, barricades erected around the acquired hills disappeared. Electricity around the Kali Mandir was disconnected and the velvet lawn developed dry patches.

This, warns the Chandra Shekhar camp, may happen to the rest of the verdant Ashram once possession changes hands. Moreover, Chandra Shekhar8217;s lawyer S K Verma says it is a misconception that the Trust 8216;8216;acquired8217;8217; 500 acres of forest land. 8216;8216;The land had been given to the Ashram only for greening, and was to be returned,8217;8217; he says. 8216;8216;Besides, as per the Supreme Court ruling, the Trust is to be compensated for the built-up area, but not for the developmental work. This means all the money invested in development, in planting trees and building boundary walls has all been wasted.8217;8217;

In the Ashram complex itself, there is little evidence that a 1999 PIL was taken as a sign of things to come. Besides Chandra Shekhar8217;s own cottage, two new cottages and a guest house complex built in 1996, the compound boasts a picturesque lake, complete with paddle boats and ducks and a gazebo. A pile of door-frames indicates that more construction was on the cards.

With Chandra Shekhar away in New Delhi, the nine-year-old Vocational Training Centre is the only section abuzz with activity. Run with Sulabh International, classes in tailoring, pottery and beauty treatment are in progress here. S N Jha, the Centre8217;s director, hopes that whatever be the fate of the ashram, this Centre doesn8217;t down shutters. But Bhondsi8217;s panchayat members have serious reservations about that. 8216;8216;Not one of the trainees belongs to Bhondsi,8217;8217; points out panchayat member Ashok Pradhan.

One group of villagers claims they were 8216;8216;forced8217;8217; to sell 16 acres of land to the Trust when Chandra Shekhar became PM at Rs 2 lakh/acre, and later declare the sale as a 8216;8216;gift8217;8217;. Bishan Singh, a retired Haryana Roadways employee and one of this group, says the Supreme Court glossed over the issue of this land. In his submission, Chandra Shekhar had admitted that this 16 acres was private land 8216;8216;gifted8217;8217; to the Trust.

Sarpanch Raj Kapoor, meanwhile, hopes that the Haryana government will hand over the land soon after they receive it from the Trust. But what about compensation for the 12,000 sq ft covered area the panchayat stands to gain? Kapoor is clear: Since a past panchayat inked the deal, he sees no reason why the current one should have to pay up.

8216;8216;I am planning to file an appeal. It is unfair that money should be recovered from this panchayat,8217;8217; he says. Clearly, Bhondsi is going to be in the headlines for a long time.