Haryana farmers protest 'land grab' by realtor

Farmers of a village on the Delhi-Jaipur-Mumbai national highway on Tuesday protested alleged takeover of their agricultural land by realtor group Vatika following a 'secret deal' with the panchayat. The company, however, said the villagers will benefit as they have got back "unused land" which they can now use to suit their needs.

The farmers of Sikanderpur (Sihi-Badha) protested and dug up the road in Sector 82-83 built by the realtor, alleging that it was built illegally after grabbing village land, and "revenue pathways" that go through fields and are used by tractors and other vehicles to transport materials.

People gathered in the area when they came to know that the sarpanch (village head) and a few panchayat members, in their own interest, allegedly passed a resolution secretly in the favour of the realtor group, saying the villagers no longer required the revenue pathways.

"How can the sarpanch and panchayat members pass such an illegal resolution when many farmers have not sold their agriculture plots?" asked Sunil Kumar, a protestor.

He alleged that the realtor group illegally erected many buildings and roads.

Ghulam Mohammad, chief of the Kherki Daula police station, reached the protest site, and asked the stakeholders to find a permanent solution to the problem.

Villager Lalaram said officials of the realtor group could not produce any documents in the company's favour.

A villager, Pradeep Singh Yadav, had filed a written complaint against the realtor group at the Kherki Daula police station on September 8, 2014, on charges of allegedly grabbing part of his ancestral land.

Villager Sudhir Kumar said Yadav also approachde the Gurgaon police commissioner on November 5, 2014, after which the matter was handed over to the Economic Offences Wing, but the outcome of the inquiry is still awaited.

Ranbir Singh, vice president for licensing and land records for the Vatika group, told IANS that the panchayat deal in the realtor's favour will only be beneficial for the villagers, as they will get nearly two acres of land -- from the revenue pathways -- which they can use as they need.

Vatika India Next is building houses, flats, villas and developing commercial sites on more than 700 acres after purchasing the land from farmers of Sikanderpur, Shikohpur, Sihi and Rampura villages, the firm said.