Rajasthan govt drops land allotment plans

The Rajasthan government on Thursday decided to drop plans to allot mandir mafi land (land that cannot be sold or leased or converted for commercial or agricultural purposes) to Yoga guru Ramdev for his proposed ₹500 crore food park in Karauli district.

The mega project, spread over 401 bigha in Karoli village , comprises a food park, a gurukul, a yogapeeth, an Ayurvedic hospital, an Ayurvedic medicine manufacturing centre and a cow shelter. The land belonged to the Govind Devji Trust.

A senior official in the state’s Devasthan department said the agreement between the Govind Devji Trust and the Patanjali Trust has been cancelled.

“As per rules, the Patanjali trust cannot carry out construction on the mandir mafi land. It will only be allowed to set up a plantation.”

The official added that a new agreement would be inked between the two entities in which, it will be clearly stated that the land cannot be used for non-agriculture use.

The land however, will be used for growing herbal and medicinal plants.

As for the Food Park and other amenities, the official said the government will consider allotting alternative land, if the trust applies for it.

The foundation stone for the mega project was laid by chief minister Vasundhara Raje and Ramdev on April 22.

The Govind Devji Trust had leased the land to Patanjali for three years.

After the agreement, the government was in a bind over land conversion.

Officials had been trying to find ways to convert the classification of the land. HTC