Land allotted to wife of BJP ex-MLA cancelled

Jaipur: The high court on Monday cancelled allotment of public land by UIT Kota to the wife of former MLA Prahlad Gunjal as it violated the master plan. It also cancelled purchase of 15,041 sq ft of land that she had bought from a person of scheduled tribe. The court directed the UIT to take possession of the public land within three months by removing the encroachment on roads.The division bench of acting chief justice MM Shrivastav and Anil Kumar Upman gave the order on a PIL by Anil Suwalka through lawyer Vimal Chaudhary.The petition said that Prahlad Meena sold 15,041 sq ft of his land along with 8,000 sq ft of government land he encroached upon to Jai Kanwar, wife of former Prahlad Gunjal on April 28, 2013.The petitioner challenged the sale deed of 15,041 sq ft of land and the allotment of 8,000 sq ft of government land as Prahlad Meena being an ST could not sell this land to a non-ST person under Section 42 of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act 1952. Jai Kanwar is from OBC. The UIT had supported Gunjal’s wife by not only allotting 8,000 sq ft of public land to her but also reduced the width of a road there. The court expressed surprise over the state’s approval to such a decision by the UIT. The court declared the sale of Meena’s land and allotment of government land to Gujar as illegal.