RTI route helps trace lost lease deed of Kheri’s Oel palace

LUCKNOW : Descendants of king Yuveraj Singh ji of the erstwhile Oel estate in Lakhimpur Kheri district had lost all hope to trace their lost deed (A document used for legal transfer of ownership) before the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, helped them get it back after several decades.

Through the deed, Yuveraj Singh ji (1907-1984) had given his house on a 30-year lease to the British government in 1928, claim the late king’s family.

At a press conference held at Oel House located at Rana Pratap Marg here on Saturday, the former king’s grandsons Pradiyumn Narain Dutta Singh ji, Vishnu Narain Dutta Singh ji and other family members expressed their gratitude to the Kheri district administration that played a crucial role in tracing the deed.

“The deed was prepared after a mutual decision that a certain sum would be given on monthly basis to the royal family as rent. Subsequently, the palace was given on lease which renewed again after India became free,” said Pradiyumn Narain Dutta Singh.

“The problem began after Yuveraj Singh ji died in 1984, leaving behind a legacy of educational institutions and other establishments. After his demise, there were certain elements who intruded and tried to fudge up the land documents that further pushed the members of the royal family to opt for RTI to trace the original deed,” he added.

He approached an RTI activist in 2019 to help him track down the original document.

“In total, we filed four RTI applications—one each to the commissioner, DM Lakhimpur Kheri, state revenue and finance departments. After much paperwork and pursuance, we got a letter on March 27, 2020 stating that the original deed was in the sub-registrar office in Sitapur. Finally on October 21, 2020, the original lease deed could be traced,” said Lucknow-based RTI activist Siddhartha Narayan who helped the royal family.