Asaram land purchase under scanner

They had contended that only farmers can buy agricultural land as per provisions of Section 84c of the Bombay Tenancy Act of 1948. They alleged that Asaram and his family,who are not farmers,bought the land by submitting false documents identifying themselves as farmers and hence the land deal be cancelled.

On inquiries,mamlatdar tenancy Bharat Prajapati found that the certificates produced by Asaram and his family were false. On this basis,he cancelled the land deal,asking Asaram and his family to vacate the land. By using provisions of the 1948 Act,he also declared the land in question as government land.

However,the mamlatdars order of declaring it as government land was challenged before deputy collector land reforms Mahesh Patel. After going through the case,Patel found lacunae in the mamlatdars order and sent back the case to him,asking him to have a fresh look at it.

Speaking to The Indian Express,Patel,currently posted in Gandhinagar district but holding additional charge of Sabarkantha as well,said mamlatdar should have given a hearing to the sellers of the land and tried to restore the disputed land to its original owners. The disputed land could have been declared government land only after the original owners would have refused to take it back..

When contacted,Prajapati said: I am looking into the issue again and will arrive at a final decision after hearing all the parties in the matter. However,he maintained that certificates submitted by Asaram and his family of themselves claiming to be farmers were false.

Ashram,villagers on collision course

SURAT: Tension gripped Bhairavi village of Chikhli taluka on Monday after angry villagers confronted followers of the local Asaram Bapu ashram over alleged encroachment of the panchayats land by them.

The police rushed in to prevent things turning ugly,but the protesters dispersed only after taking a vow to go on an indefinite hungerstrike if the encroached land was not taken from the ashram and restored to the Gram Panchayat within 15 days.

The development is being seen as a fallout of the Navsari district collector serving notice on the ashram on January 1 to remove its encroachment on the land belonging to the Bhairavi Gram Panchayat. However,the ashram is yet to relent.

The villagers gathered in strength and went to the ashram on Monday afternoon while a satsang was in progress there. A heated exchange took place between the villagers and ashram followers. Sensing the situation going out of control,somebody called the police.

Bhairavi village deputy sarpanch Navin Karlekar said: The land belongs to the Gram Panchayat and they legally cornered it. We want them to vacate our land. If it does not happen,all of us will go on an indefinite hungerstrike. ENS