Dalit widow’s decade-long fight to reclaim land continues

Posted On November 28, 2024

Jaipur: An 85-year-old Dalit woman’s decade-long struggle to get her two bighas of agricultural land freed from illegal encroachment has found little success. Worse, she has now alleged that efforts are on to sell off her land illegally for commercial purposes.

On Wednesday, Santra Devi, a resident of Kalwar Road at Machwa village in Jaipur, was seen at the police commissioner’s office along with her family. They handed over a letter to the office, urging the authorities’ intervention to reclaim her land. She said her land was illegally taken into possession by two local village heads and their families after her husband’s death.

“I did not sell my land. Why would I sell my land? But I am being told by the authorities that my land has been sold off,” said Devi. “There are currently 23 shops operating on my land, with individual shops valued between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore. The cumulative worth of this land is estimated to be at least Rs 23 crore,” she said.

Devi has earlier approached a range of top offices, including the CM’s office, those of public representatives, Jaipur collector, police commissioner, human rights commission, and the SC commission, but nothing has so far helped her get the agricultural land mutated in her name.

An FIR was also registered against the accused at Kalwar police station in July. “Earlier, when I approached police with a complaint, they manhandled my children,” alleged Devi, who has nine children.

“The local authorities have ignored all my requests. My husband was a very poor Dalit, who made a living by whitewashing buildings. As a landless Dalit, the govt had allocated him two bighas of sand soil without a well, which he could cultivate only once a year. When he passed away in 2013, two local sarpanches – Rajender Sherawat from Machwa and Jhajjara from Sarna Panchayat – and their families took illegal possession of the land,” said Devi.

She alleged that two fraudulent societies – Vijaypura Griha Nirman Sahkari Samiti and Sirohi Griha Nirman Sahkari Samiti – have been formed and backdated pattas have been issued to open shops on her land.

“I and my family remain landless,” said Devi.

Courtesy : TOI

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