HC ends wait of 1965 war widow for plot of land After almost 50 years of running from pillar to post to get her entitlement, a 72-year-old war widow living in Pune got some relief with the Bombay High Court on Tuesday asking the state government to pay Rs 75,000 as cost for failure to provide a residential and an agricultural land to her. She had lost her husband, a sepoy in the Maratha Light Infantry, on October 27, 1965 in Ladakh. Justices A S Oka and A S Chandurkar directed the state Chief Secretary to take cognisance and see to it that similar cases are dealt with effectively. “Hope and trust the Chief Secretary and state officers will take immediate steps for grant of relief and such people should not be driven to the court,” remarked the bench. Before he was killed in the battlefield, Babaji Jadhav from Khed Taluka in Ratnagiri district had applied for allotment of a 10-acre plot, to the then collector. This assistance was under a state provision giving priority to soldiers during distribution of cultivable land. After he was martyred, the state suggested that residential land be given to his widow Indira. However, she was informed in 1987 that the allotment cannot be done. The collector of Ratnagiri had earlier told the court that Indira had been allotted a land in Ratnagiri city. He, however, said the widow was being asked to pay the market cost of the land as per 2001 ready reckoner rates amounting to Rs 47,000. The court had expressed displeasure at the state’s attitude when dealing with the martyr’s widow. The court observed that she had had failed to get justice. Indira’s lawyers — Avinahsh Gokhale and Mayuresh Modgi — told the court that due to her deteriorating health, she was in hospital. Indira, they said, had taken up the job of a primary school teacher in Ratnagiri due to lack of financial assistance. While making references to the relevant Government Resolutions (GR), the court on Tuesday said that the state should adjust the price of the land as per the ready reckoner rates of 1998 and not 2001. “State should ensure the cost (75,000) should be deposited in the pension account within six weeks from today… The payable amount (for land) should be deducted from the cost amount,” the court ordered. The state should hand over possession of the land within six weeks from Tuesday, said the court. Indira will now have to pay 50 per cent of the market price of the land – a 300 sq m plot – in Khed, Ratnagiri. This amount will be adjusted with cost imposed on the state. The court also directed the district collector to obtain a formal application from Indira within two weeks so that she can take possession of the 10-acre cultivable land.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 07:15:17 +0000
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