MP woman stakes claim to "govt land" earmarked for Sant Ravidas temple

The woman claimed that three acre of the 11 acre of land earmarked for construction of Sant Ravidas temple and museum belonged to her.

Sagar:The site earmarked for setting up a temple and museum of Sant Ravidas is being mired in controversy as a tribal woman from Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district has claimed ownership of the plot. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to perform 'bhoomi puja' here soon.

The woman, Guddibai has claimed that she is the owner of a portion of the land. She said that her father, Panche Saur used to cultivate on this plot for generations and after his death, she has inherited it as she does not have any brother. "My family has been occupying the land for the last 40 years. While the government is giving land pattas to the tribals on plots they possess, I have been evicted," she complained. Guddibai has no problem if the government decides to build a temple here but, has demanded a plot of similar dimension at some other place.

The district administration however claimed it to be a government plot. Meanwhile, after the woman's claim surfaced, she suddenly was found missing throughout the day and late last night her video was released by the state public relations department wherein she agrees to the construction of the temple.

On the occasion of Ravidas Jayanti, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, had announced construction of a Ravidas temple on 11 acres at a cost of Rs 100 crore. The proposed temple's foundation stone is scheduled to be laid by PM Modi. Suddenly, Guddi has claimed that out of the earmarked 11 acre land, three acre belongs to her.

In the 16-second video that was released by the public relations department, the woman is found saying that she does not own the land and has no objection to the construction of the temple on it.

"Guddibai is saying that it is her plot while the government is denying it. She is a poor widow and how would she bring up her children. I would request the government to consider her case from a humanitarian angle," Seema Chaudhary, Councilor of Ward no 18 said.