Tiger crusader ‘Billy’ Arjan Singh faces land-grabbing charge

Renowned tiger conservationist and a recipient of Padma Bhushan, “Billy” Arjan Singh...

Renowned tiger conservationist and a recipient of Padma Bhushan, “Billy” Arjan Singh, has found the fourth place among the top ten land-grabbers, in a recent list prepared by the North Kheri Forest Division. Officials claim that Singh has illegally occupied around 40 hectares of land of the Forest Division, near the Indo-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh.

Singh, who was instrumental in establishing the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, has been sent an eviction notice, officials said. “If we don’t get any reply within the allotted time, we would send reminders to Singh and others who are involved. Later, needful action would be taken against the land-grabbers,” said K K Singh, DFO, North Kheri Forest Division.

“The list was prepared after an assessment of 8,115 hectares of land, out of a total 44,000 hectares that come under the North Kheri Forest Division. During the survey, we found that 3,078 persons have illegally grabbed the Forest Division’s land,” the DFO said. These people captured the land by building up residential establishments or by converting them for agricultural purposes, he said.

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He added that they had also issued notices to those persons who had moved the court claiming that they had purchased the land. “I asked them to show the relevant papers if they had purchased the land. I also told them to immediately evict from the land, or otherwise action would be taken against them under Section 61 (B) of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 .”

“Action against others involved in land-grabbing, whose names did not figure in the list, would also be taken soon,” he said.

The Dudhwa National Park was part of the North Kheri Forest Division till 1977.

Deputy Director, Dudhwa National Park, CP Singh said: “We have possession of all the land coming under Dudhwa National Park. The fight is between the Forest Division and others”.

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North Kheri Forest Division’s lawyer Shailesh Mishra said, “We filed a writ in the civil court at Lakhimpur for getting back the land, somewhere around early ’80s. The case is presently being heard by the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court. The next date for the hearing has been fixed for December 6.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, Billy Arjan Singh said: “I am the owner of the land which is in my possession. I have not received any notice from the North Kheri Forest Division.”

The man behind Dudhwa

“Billy” Arjan Singh is a conservationist recognised by most tiger lovers. Born in Gorakhpur in 1917, he joined the British army in 1940 and fought in World War II. Upon his return to India, he took a farm on the edge of Dudhwa National Park in Lakhimpur Kheri district (the land under controversy). He lives here in a residence he designed and calls ‘Tiger Haven’. Singh was honoured with Padma Shri in 1995. This was closely followed by the World Wildlife Gold Medal in 1976 and the Order of the Golden Ark a year later and the Lifetime Award for Tiger Conservation in March 1999.