TOI Exclusive
The disputed 871 ha of land in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district on which Madhya Pradesh has allegedly ordered the construction of a solar plant
The disputed 871 ha of land in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district on which Madhya Pradesh has allegedly ordered the construction of a solar plant
Jaipur: The state govt has hardened its stand in the forest land row with Madhya Pradesh (MP), accusing its BJP-ruled neighbour state of pushing ahead with a solar plant on reserved forest land that belongs to Rajasthan despite repeated objections.The govt is now moving to escalate the dispute to the ministerial level while initiating action against those behind the alleged encroachment.Following a video conference chaired by chief secretary V Srinivas Friday, the state govt has decided that its forest and revenue ministers will write to their MP counterparts seeking an early resolution to the dispute.“The divisional forest officer (DFO), Jhalawar, has already registered an FIR against the alleged encroachers, while the head of forest force (HoFF), Rajasthan, has formally conveyed the state’s objections to his MP counterpart. The forest department will take action against any non-forestry activity on its land,” Srinivas told TOI.Additional chief secretary (Forest and Environment) Anand Kumar said, “Our forest and revenue ministers will write to their counterparts in MP. Until the matter is resolved, the firm behind the solar plant will not be allowed to undertake any work on the forest land”.Sources in govt said the state has sought legal opinion from the additional advocate general to decide on its next course of action, which includes the option of approaching the Supreme Court. Efforts, however, will first be made to resolve the dispute amicably through mutual discussions, they added.The row is centred on the alleged encroachment of over 871 hectares of reserved forest land in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district, of which nearly 130 hectares was apparently leased to a private company for the construction of a 100 MW grid-connected captive solar project.Officials maintain that no non-forestry activity would be permitted until land records are conclusively settled.Official documents accessed by TOI show that Madhya Pradesh Jal Nigam Maryadit awarded the solar project to infrastructure firm Dilip Buildcon, following which the latter began installation work.The documents show that levelling of the forest land in question continued despite the dispute remaining unresolved and repeated notices and objections raised by Rajasthan authorities.In a communication to the district collector of Mandsaur, MP, the deputy conservator of forests (DCF), Jhalawar, said illegal construction was under way on Khasra Nos. 236/1 and 1423 in the Ghughwa forest block of Singhpur village. The DCF stated that the firm behind the project had been issued a stop-work notice, but non-forestry activities resumed despite the directive.MP, meanwhile, has rejected Rajasthan’s claim, maintaining that the land falls within Mandsaur district limits and that the solar project in question is linked to a drinking water scheme allotted to the MP Jal Nigam.The MP govt said it has shared revenue records, historical survey maps, GIS data, joint boundary measurement records and GPS-tagged photographs with Rajasthan to support its claim. To further reinforce its jurisdiction over the disputed land, it pointed out that local elections in the area have long been conducted by the MP administration.A senior Rajasthan official, however, disputed the claim, alleging that MP established villages on the disputed land despite Rajasthan revenue records showing it as reserved forest land notified in 1961. The official said around 450 hectares of the disputed plot still remains vacant.“A fresh joint demarcation will be carried out and every effort will be made to resolve the matter amicably,” the official said.
