Ayodhya: In November 2023, just two months before the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Homequest Infraspace, a subsidiary of the Adani Group, bought over 1.4 hectares of land in Majha Jamthara, an unpopulated region located on the banks of the river Saryu, just 6 km from the temple complex. The Adani Group subsidiary bought the land from a firm founded by former BJP MLA C.P. Shukla, who in turn had purchased it from a resident of Ayodhya last year.
In February 2022, Vyakti Vikas Kendra (VVK), a “registered public charitable trust under the aegis of the Art of Living”, a foundation established by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar bought over 5.31 hectares of land in the same area of Majha Jamthara.
In July 2023, Haryana Yog Aayog Chairman Jaideep Arya, who is also associated with yoga guru and entrepreneur Ramdev’s Bharat Swabhiman Trust, and four others, including Rakesh Mittal, who is also with the same Trust, bought 3.035 hectares of land in the area.
However, there was a catch. All these parcels of land, whose registries have been seen by ThePrint, had been notified by the state government as army buffer zones since Majha Jamthara is located right next to swathes of Army land reserved for field firing and artillery practice where construction and commercial activities are prohibited for safety reasons. Ayodhya has a cantonment and Dogra regimental centre, as well as a housing and infantry brigade.
On 30 May, 2024, months after these land deals were made, the office of the governor, who is the competent authority to notify and de-notify these lands as buffer zones under The Manoeuvres, Field Firing and Artillery Practice Act, 1938, de-notified this particular village.
Several officials from the civil administration and the Army explained that while private individuals can possess, buy and sell property in the notified lands, their use is significantly limited to ensure that no harm is caused to humans, animals and properties. For instance, these lands can mostly be used for agriculture such that, whenever the army intimates the state government about its field firing practice, the area can be vacated.
However, de-notifying the land opens it up to commercial construction.
According to the notification issued by the governor’s office, while a total of 5,419 hectares (13,391 acres) of land across 14 villages had been notified from August 2020 to July 2025, 894.7 hectares (2,211 acres), which fall under Majha Jamthara, had been specifically de-notified.
“It has been decided to de-notify a total of 2,211 acres of land from Plot number 1 to 398 of Village Majha Jamthara of Ayodhya Sadar Tehsil of District Ayodhya,” the notification accessed by ThePrint said.
District Magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh confirmed the decision to de-notify Majha Jamthara.
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‘The village is prime property’
Incidentally, a case of encroachment into the notified land is already sub-judice in the Allahabad High Court, which had taken suo motu cognisance of the case in April this year.
Before this, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the High Court by Ayodhya-based lawyer Praveen Kumar Dubey regarding encroachment into the notified land. In an order dated 24 November, 2023, the court directed the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) against sanctioning plans without due verification of the title of the land. “State land as entrusted to the Ministry of Defence cannot be allowed to be encroached upon or dissipated otherwise in derogation of law,” it had said.
In compliance with the order, the ADA passed an order stopping mapping for projects in this area.
Sources in the state administration said that the decision to de-notify this particular village has been taken since it is on prime land from the perspective of “development”.
“The legal team was consulted since the matter is also in court, and then the decision to de-notify Majha Jamthara was taken,” an official said, on condition of anonymity.
Another official said the government may consider de-notifying land across all the 14 villages as the Army “never uses that firing range”.
“This land was notified years ago, and the notification has little meaning. People have been living there for years,” the official said, adding that several influential people had bought land in Majha Jamthara since it was “prime property”.
The state government, too, has projects planned for the region, he said.
A third official in the civil administration said that the government has plans to construct a temple museum worth hundreds of crores in Majha Jamthara, and that is why the decision to de-notify this particular village was taken. “The decision has nothing to do with the private entities who bought the land there,” the official said.
Moreover, the army does not do any practice around Majha Jamthara, and the village is notified every five years by the state government just because this area was notified decades ago under the Manoeuvres, Field Firing and Artillery Practice Act, 1938, the official claimed.
However, sources in the Army told ThePrint that the army continues to conduct field firings on their land, even though the practice has significantly reduced after the Ayodhya airport became functional this year.
“Our practice has significantly reduced because of an increased number of flights in the area,” a senior army official said. “So, I think the government will de-notify the whole area.”
Besides, another source in the defence establishment explained that, in general, the need for buffer zones is coming down as increasingly “baffle” firing ranges are coming up across the country. These are smaller, covered shooting practice areas that reduce the possibility of accidents due to stray bullets.
‘Not aware land was notified’
ThePrint contacted Ayodhya resident Ajay Yadav who sold his land, which he had been using for agricultural purposes, to a firm called Time City Multi State Cooperative Housing Society last year. The firm is part of the Time City Group founded by Shukla, the BJP MLA from Kaptanganj, between 2017 and 2022.
Weeks after Yadav sold his land to the firm, it was purchased by Homequest Infraspace, the Adani Group subsidiary.
“I sold the land to Time City. Later, I read in the news that it has been sold for much more…But I have no idea about that,” Yadav told ThePrint. However, Yadav, who was not aware that the land fell under a notified area, said there was never a direction to vacate the land for army training.
“We have never been given any such orders and neither are we aware of the army practice around,” he said.
ThePrint sent queries via email and WhatsApp to the spokespersons of the Adani Group, the Art of Living and Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved Limited, asking them if they were aware that the land they had purchased was notified for army training and for what purpose they had made the purchase.
In a response sent by email, the spokesperson of the Adani Group said, “The transaction carried out by Homequest Infraspace Pvt Ltd is completely legal and was conducted in accordance with all laws and regulations. The company has acquired the land from a private party for future development.”
“As per legal advice, the land is free from any legal encumbrances; it is clear, marketable and transferable. As per the revenue records, it is a private land with no mention of the said land being reserved for use by the Army,” the spokesperson added.
“The Adani Group is committed to doing business in a responsible manner and to building trust with all stakeholders. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of ethics and legality in all dealings, and this transaction is no exception.”
Responding to queries by ThePrint, Prasanna Prabhu, chairman trustee of the VVK, said, “We will be creating a park and herbal land.”
A spokesperson of Patanjali said the purchases made by Arya and Mittal have nothing to do with the Bharat Swabhiman Trust, and that they have been made in their personal capacity. “Bharat Swabhiman Trust is neither associated with this land nor aware about the facts,” the spokesperson said.
Arya told ThePrint that he was not aware of the land’s use to the army in any way. Moreover, he and Mittal have only purchased a very small parcel of land, which they will use for plantations in the “holy land” of Ayodhya, he said. “We have not purchased this land for any commercial purposes,” he added.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar and additional chief secretary, reorganisation department, Jitendra Kumar, who issued the notification de-notifying Majha Jamthara in May, had not responded to ThePrint’s requests for comment on why this village specifically was de-notified, till the time this report was published. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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