A PIL was filed in the Gujarat high court on Jun 21 by Dharmendra Bhavani from Vishwa Hindu Parishad against the illegal acquisition and construction of land belonging to Jagannathji Mandir Trust in the Danilimda-Behrampura area of Ahmedabad by builder Usman Ghani Ghanchi who continued his construction development business under the name of HS Hotelwala.

Jagannath Mandir trust land worth ₹20-25 thousand crores acquired under forged name

According to the PIL, Ghanchi had acquired the land from the Mandir Trust under the forged name ‘Jagannath Consultancy’. An estimation states that the land owned by the two trusts running the Jagannathji Mandir -the Jagannath Mandir Trust and Mahant Narsinh Das Ji Trust -is around 2,97,000 sq.m. worth nearly ₹20,000-25,000cr.

Land given on lease for 2 years 11 months to evade charity commissioner’s sanction

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) had initially leased the land to Jagannath Mandir Trust and Mahant Narsinh Dasji Trust for cattle rearing and cow sheltering purposes. As per the rules, the land could not be lent to anyone for three years without sanction from the charity commissioner. To evade this, the land was leased to the builder and others for two years and 11 months. After a plea was filed in Jan 2020 with the charity commissioner, illegal construction by the builder on the land received a stay order, and the acquisition was deemed void.

Builder acquired land given to Mandir Trust by donations from devotees

The PIL urged that the land that was leased out to the builder was received by the trust from donations and charity given by the devotees. So, it should be utilised for the purpose for which it was availed. After receiving no response from a complaint filed in the Lokayukta as well, this PIL has now been registered in the Gujarat high court.

For more such updates and news on the go, follow us on

Instagram | YouTube | Facebook