To stop land e-auction, Gujarat tribal ‘king’ has a suggestion: ‘Sell our trees instead’

“We person requested the authorities to intervene. The slope officials are not listening to us. I americium not dependable capable financially to repay the amount. We privation the slope officials to travel up with immoderate colony look that is feasible for us. We don’t privation our onshore to beryllium sold to immoderate backstage person,” said Dhanrajsinh (69).

He said the property, belonging to his deceased wife, is protected nether conception 73 AA of the Gujarat Land Revenue Code according to which a onshore owned by a tribal idiosyncratic cannot beryllium transferred to a non-tribal without the support of the collector. In his memorandum submitted to Collector Mahesh Patel Wednesday, Dhanrajsinh expressed apprehension that the auction of his onshore could pb to each the tribal rights being “snatched away.”

Dang, Gujarat’s lone 100% tribal district, has a affluent biodiversity and is location to a conception of the Purna Wildlife Sanctuary. Due to a British-era agreement, its 5 Bhil kings, including Dhanrajsinh, are recognised by the authorities and proceed to get a privy purse adjacent arsenic it was abolished for different princely states.

Dhanrajsinh’s cultivation land, measuring astir 1 lakh quadrate km, according to the documents attached with the memorandum, is situated successful Moti Kasad colony of Subir taluka.

In the memorandum, Dhanrajsinh said his woman Subhadra, who passed distant 5 years ago, and her brothers had taken a indebtedness from Bank of Baroda’s Ahwa subdivision connected August 31, 2009. “Due to our mediocre fiscal condition, we could not repay the loan. Bank officials person issued america a announcement of betterment of the indebtedness magnitude of Rs 29.31 lakh. We showed our fiscal concern to the slope authorities and requested them to travel up with a colony look but they did not listen. The slope officials had, successful the archetypal week of January, published an e-auction announcement successful the vernacular papers and invited bidders online…The e-auction volition beryllium done connected January 31, 2025,” helium wrote.

Unique presumption of ‘kings’

Dhanrajsinh pointed retired successful the memorandum that helium was “still getting a governmental pension from the authorities arsenic the erstwhile king of Vasurna”. He is entitled to person a monthly pension of Rs 19,400. He, similar the different kings of Dang – Gaadhvi state’s Kiransinh Yashwantrao Pawar, Linga’s Chhatrasingh Suryavanshi, Daher’s Tapatrao Pawar and Pimpri’s Trimakrao Sahebrao Pawar – person the full year’s pension successful 1 spell astir Holi. The lawsuit is celebrated arsenic Dang Darbar.

He said, “If our (tribal) onshore is e-auctioned to immoderate different backstage idiosyncratic (a non-tribal), past different cultivation lands successful Dang, which are protected nether 73AA, volition besides beryllium sold. We don’t cognize if the slope officials had taken support from the Revenue Department earlier doing the e-auction of the 73AA cultivation land. If this is done successful Dang, past each the tribal rights volition beryllium snatched away.”

Dhanrajsinh stated that the onshore successful question is with the undivided household and has galore ineligible heirs. “The mortgaged cultivation onshore has respective teak wood and different trees. The slope officials should chopped specified trees, cod their owed outgo and manus implicit the remaining magnitude to us,” helium wrote successful his request. “The e-auction process should beryllium stopped immediately, and for this, the slope authorities should contented notices successful the newspapers,” helium added.

When contacted, Bank of Baroda’s Chief Manager Surender Lal, who is the authoritative acrophobic for the e-auction process, said, ”The determination was taken by the higher authorities astatine my bank. I person thing to accidental connected this.”

Sources astatine Collector Patel’s bureau said helium was connected permission and volition resume his duties adjacent week. They confirmed that Patel had received the memorandum from Dhanrajsinh.