Hearing on a public interest litigation filed, the High Court of Uttarakhand has directed the Himanshu education society and the State Government to submit their response within a month regarding the allocation of land at Nainisar for the establishment of Jindal international school.
Almora resident Bishan Singh and Uttarakhand Parivartan Party (UPP) head PC Tiwari had filed a public interest litigation in the High Court at Nainital stating that the State Government had ignored the landless and local villagers to allot 253 nali land at Nainisar. The petitioners have alleged that the State Government had allotted the Van Panchayat and Gram Sabha land in question at Nainisar at a throwaway price to a private industrial group without taking the consent of the local villagers. Further, the petitioners have also sought the cancellation of the government order passed on September 22, 2015 and the lease dated February 9, 2016. They have also demanded that any type of construction work should be halted at the place in question. After hearing the case, the division bench comprising chief justice KM Joseph and justice VK Bist directed the State Government and others to submit their response in the case within the period of one month.
It is pertinent to mention here that on October 22, last year the then chief minister Harish Rawat had unveiled the foundation stone for the Jindal International School to be constructed by the Jindal Group at Nainisar, Ranikhet. This Nainisar land allotment has since then been eliciting strong opposition from the local villagers and activists with political parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party also joining in protest against the State Government on the issue accusing it of undermining interests of the state and its people for ulterior gains. One of the petitioners, the UPP chief PC Tiwari has also been heading consistent protest demonstrations with the locals and others at the Almora district and State level.