Madhya Pradesh
,
Indore
,
Indore
Published :
Mar 2017
|
Updated :
Students, Lawyers, Activists Protest Against Court Complex on Pipliyahana Lake in MP
Reported by
Arpit Deshmukh
Legal Review by
Anmol Gupta
Edited by
Anupa Kujur
Households affected
People affected
2016
Year started
12
Land area affected
Households affected
People Affected
2016
Year started
12
Land area affected
Key Insights
Sector
Infrastructure
Reason/Cause of conflict
Other Kind of Infrastructure
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Urban
Ended
Sector
Infrastructure
Reason/Cause of conflict
Other Kind of Infrastructure
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Urban
Ended
1
Summary

In July 2016, the Government of Madhya Pradesh proposed to set up a district court complex on Pipliyahana lake. But people took to mass agitation to save the lake. The relentless fight they put up compelled the state to roll back its decision. However, in late 2016, as an alternative, the state decided to acquire the land inside the Indore agriculture college to build the district court complex. The proposal required 20 acres of land to be taken from the 59hectare land occupied by the college. This led to a mass protest by farmers, environmentalists and students, backed by the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, Bhartiya Kisan Union and the All India Association of Agricultural Graduates. According to the protesters, the move would badly impact the research work on crops conducted by the agricultural institute on the land and claimed that the land allotted is one of the most fertile portions in the MalwaNimar region favorable to conduct research. The protesters, however, were not opposed to a court complex and, therefore, came up with alternative options for the complex. Bharatiya Kisan Sanghs Mahesh Chawdhary said they had proposed the Chhawani Anaajdalhantilhan Mandi as a viable site for the court complex. According to him, "the farmers and grain merchants who ply their trade in the _mandi _(market) have repeatedly demanded that the _mandi _should be moved out from the area as they were facing an acute shortage of buyers. Constructing the court at the site of the _mandi _while simultaneously relocating the farmers to sell their grain produce at a different site would be a winwin situation for both the government and buyers," said Chawdhary. However, in 2018, the government rolled back to its earlier decision to construct the district court complex on Pipliyahana Lake, and the construction work soon began. Google Earth images show that the lake has been filled up to create land for the court. The agitators, under the banner of Pipliyahana Talab Bachao Samiti have vowed to not let the authorities destroy the water body. They have alleged that the court building is impacting the size of the lake, according to a petition filed by social activist Kishore Kodwani against the construction. In September 2019, a group of lawyers organised a strike opposing the project. The protesters also sent a memorandum to then Chief Minister Kamal Nath to put a halt on the construction work. In December 2019, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change sent an inspection committee to decide the fate of the project. The committee members assured the protesters that their issues would be mentioned in detail in the report that will be submitted to the ministry.

2
Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Opposition against environmental degradation

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Urban

Type of Land

Common

Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

Type of investment:

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

4
Additional Information

Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:

Law and Legislative Affairs Department

PSUs Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?

No

Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached

Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?

Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:

Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, All India Association of Agricultural Graduates

5
Information on the use of criminal law

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Legal Supporting Documents

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Author
Reported by
Arpit Deshmukh
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Fact sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources

Opposition against environmental degradation

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

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Exclusive monthly policy briefs, stories from the ground, Quarterly Analytics report, Curated Expert talks, merchandise and much more.


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