Panchayat accused of grabbing land

The Gujarat high court has stayed the allotment of gochar land made to the poor by the gram panchayat of Dari village, (Bhavnagar district) till further orders.

The court passed the stay order while hearing the petition filed by the residents of the neighbouring village, Haripara.

Residents of Haripura have accused the Dari grampanchayat of grabbing a plot of 32 acres that actually belonged to Haripara and distributing it among the poor residents of Dari.

Haripura villagers have also alleged that the Dhari grampanchayat had allotted the land through the Garib Kalyan Mela Scheme.

The villagers have alleged that the plot of gochar land in their village was transferred to Dhari by the grampanchayat just to earn the goodwill of the residents of the village.

The grampanchayat had organised a function for allotment of the land to the poor and needy in their village, Dhari residents stated.

When the news of the function reached the villagers of Haripura, they enquired about it and found out that it was their land which Dhari’s grampanchayat was allotting to needy people.

When they realised the mischief, Haripura villagers moved the Gujarat high court for cancellation of the allotment. They had also sought an interim stay on the allotment till the matter was resolved.

After hearing the argument of Haripura villagers, the high court stayed allotment of the disputed land till further orders.