JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court has pulled up the state government for failing to allot land to an 80-year-old war widow, even 11 years after the Board of Revenue acknowledged she was previously granted unfit land on a riverbed. The court has now given the government four weeks to either act or explain the prolonged delay.
Justice Mahendra Kumar Goyal, in an order dated April 2, directed the principal secretary of the revenue department to take appropriate action or file an affidavit by May 5, explaining why the alternative land promised to Daryao Kanwar has not been provided.
Kanwar, the widow of Bhanwar Singh—a nayab risaldar who was martyred in 1965—had approached the High Court in 2022 after waiting in vain for years despite a clear directive from the Board of Revenue in her favor.
Decade-Long Wait Despite Official Orders
As per her counsel O.P. Mishra, Kanwar was initially allotted 25 beeghas of land in Jaipur’s Phulera tehsil under the Rajasthan Gallantry Awards (Cash Rewards and Land Rewards) Rules, 1966. However, it was later discovered that the plot was situated on a riverbed and, therefore, ineligible for allotment.
In February 2014, the Board of Revenue acknowledged the mistake, stating that Kanwar was not at fault and recommended she be allotted land elsewhere. Despite this, no land was granted.
“She waited for three years after the Board’s recommendation before moving the High Court,” Mishra said. “In fact, land was earmarked for her on two separate occasions but never formally allotted.”
One such instance occurred on December 4, 2019, when a plot in Bechun village on the outskirts of Jaipur was identified for her. Yet again, the allotment did not materialize.
Court Seeks Accountability
During the recent hearing, the government requested four weeks to act, which the court approved. However, the judge made it clear that failure to resolve the matter within the given timeframe would require the government to provide a formal explanation.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for May 5.
