Jaipur146;s first farmhouse scheme runs into trouble

A gigantic farmhouse-cum-resort project has created a flutter in the Jaipur real-estate market with the elite of the city making a beeline f...

A gigantic farmhouse-cum-resort project has created a flutter in the Jaipur real-estate market with the elite of the city making a beeline for a share in the posh locality. But the Forest Department has created an unexpected hurdle in the project, saying that land on which the farmhouses are being planned lies in the area reserved for the Nahargarh Wildlife Sanctuary.

The project8212;the first farmhouse scheme approved by the state government in the private sector8212;has been launched by Rakesh Meena, son of Rajasthan High Court judge Yad Ram Meena, and his wife on the outskirts of Jaipur.

According to official documents, Meena has applied to the Jaipur Development Authority JDA for developing farmhouses and resorts on an area in excess of 215 bighas nearly 6,50,000 sq yards of land in the city8217;s green belt.

The JDA has issued a public notice saying it would clear the project by Friday if it does not receive any objections to the plan. According to official documents, Rakesh and his wife own two-thirds of this land, while their partner Ram Kishan Meena has the remaining share.

The Forest Department, however, has objected to the plan through a letter to the JDA saying that non-forest activity cannot be carried out in the area.

The letter written by deputy conservator of forest Jaipur, dated December 31, says: 8216;8216;The land on which the project is planned is part of the reserved forests of Amer. This was proclaimed also by the Rajasthan Government through a notification A-7 58, Rak/61 dated November 21, 1961. Apart from this, the abovementioned area falls in the Nahargarh reserves, according to a notification issued on September 22, 1980.8217;8217;

8216;8216;Any non-forest activity in this area will be in violation of the Supreme Court order dated December 12, 1996, the forest preservation Act 1980 and the wildlife protection act,8217;8217; the department has argued, adding that the project be disallowed.

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When contacted, Rakesh Meena said the Forest Department8217;s objection was not valid. 8220;It had notified the entire area as forest land through a notification in 1961. But when it had moved court to seek the mutation of this land in the department8217;s records its application was disallowed. So the lands remained in the possession of the original khatedar farmers, from whom we have purchased it,8217;8217; he said.