Rajasthan HC cancels allotment of 1,500 bigha land to Adani group

Rajasthan High Court has set aside the allotment of 1,500 bighas of land to Adani Renewable Energy for setting up a solar plant in Jaisalmer's Pokaran.

Jodhpur:In a big blow to the Adani group, the Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday has cancelled the allotment of 1,500 bighas of land to Adani Renewable Energy for setting up a solar plant in Jaisalmer's Pokaran. The High Court has also directed the state government to review the remaining land out of over 6000 bighas that was allotted to build the project in Naidan village.

Against the order of a single bench, Advocate Motisingh Rajpurohit filed a special appeal on behalf of Barkat Khan before the division bench of Senior Justice Sangeet Lodha and Justice Rameshwar Lodha. The court ordered the state government to conduct a detailed survey of the area and not to allot any land without proper roads and infrastructure for the people residing in the region. "Land should be allocated only after holding a detailed survey and reviewing its details," the court said.

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According to the appeal, in 2006, the then SDO Pokaran had given advertisement for this land under the Rajasthan Land Revenue (Allotment of Land for Agricultural Purpose) Rules 1970. Despite this, in 2015 a proposal was sent by the Adani Renewable Energy Park Rajasthan Limited for alloting 6115.6 bighas of land for the construction of a solar plant.

To allot this land to the Adani group for a solar plant, the Revenue Department changed the land type by issuing an order on May 30 2017. After it was approved by the state government, the District Collector allotted 6115.6 bighas of land to Adani Group on January 11, 2018.

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The allotment was challenged in the single bench, but the petition was dismissed on November 27, 2019 following which an appeal was filed in the Division Bench. On behalf of the state government, Additional Advocate General Rekha Borana had issued orders to maintain the status-quo after giving the undertaking. In the hearing, senior advocates RN Mathur, Kuldeep Mathur, Dhirendra Singh Soda, Shreyans Mardia and Vipul Dharaniya appeared on behalf of other applicants.

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