Land reclamation
Yavan Pratap
(Querist) 14 May 2023
This query is : Resolved
Hello,
I Belong to a small town from UP.
Recently my father retired from the Post Of Superintendent Engineer at ONGC and with his retirement fund he purchased some agricultural land. The problem with the ground is that it is not at all plain somewhere there is a stack of soil somewhere not i.e. it is not evenly scattered. The land is higher than the back and low from the front due to which the water doesn't stay in the ground and it erodes the soil with it due to the gradient/slope. So my father decides to make that land plain i.e. to make the soil evenly scattered with the help of one contractor. They started digging the higher portion with JCB and keep on shifting that soil with the help of a dumper to my uncle's farm which is in front of our land and is very much lower than the road in order to have mutual benefit and make the ground more appropriate and good for cultivation for both of us.
After 2-3 days 2 police officers came and started asking why you are doing this with the contractor, the contractor is already known to the police officer and gave some money to them which they say was "kharcha pani".
After four days DM of the District changed and all the land mining workers stopped their work some police officers came and ask to stop the work.
Recently North India faced unfavorable weather due to western disturbances. So my father and uncle went to have a look at the land as our land was still irregular and was still on a high slope gradient so the water cut the soil and erodes it to the road and my uncle's land got filled with standing water due to rain.
it's been more than a month. We couldn't find any way to resolve this situation. I couldn't find any way out. Land mining is illegal but I just want to know make your land appropriate for cultivation is also illegal.
I am not getting where I should put up my query in the DM office, SDM office, SP office, DSP office, Block Development Office, Nagar Panchayat office, and Tehsildar office.
We are looking to settle this issue and make our land appropriate for cultivation before the rainy season as rainwater will make the land good and after that, we can sow the Rabi crop this season.
kavksatyanarayana
(Expert) 15 May 2023
You shall consult the Commissioner of Mines and Geology and the District Collector concerned.
T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate
(Expert) 17 May 2023
If your father purchased agricultural property then there cannot be any problem for him to level the land to enable him to do the cultivation work.
The police cannot stop him from leveling his leveling work.
However if your father is involved in the mining activities then it would be prohibited.
If he is constantly troubled by local police let him make an application to the District collector to permit him to level the land and start cultivating activities in his land.
The land revenue department at the collectorate will survey, inspect, if it is found that the land is worthy and fit for cultivation by leveling the land equally on all sides, you may get permission, if you do not get any relief from the district collector, you can file a writ petition before high court seeking relief or remedy to this.
