New Delhi: A day after ThePrint reported that Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel had de-notified land marked as a ‘buffer zone’ for Army training in Ayodhya, the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) said it would allow mapping in the area, publicly opening it up for construction and commercial use.
In a press release issued on 6 August, 2024, the ADA said it would now accept and pass maps in ‘Majha Jamthara’ — the area that was de-notified by the state government months after Homequest Infraspace, a subsidiary of the Adani Group; the Vyakti Vikas Kendra (VVK), a “charitable trust” registered under the aegis of the Art of Living; and two individuals associated with yoga guru and entrepreneur Ramdev’s Bharat Swabhiman Trust, had purchased land there.
While a total of 5,419 hectares (13,391 acres) of land across 14 villages had been notified from August 2020 to July 2025 as buffer zones for army training, 894.7 hectares (2,211 acres) that fall under Majha Jamthara — where the above-mentioned entities purchased land in the run-up to the Ram Mandir consecration in Ayodhya in January this year — had been specifically de-notified, ThePrint reported last week.
Now, over two months after the government quietly de-notified the area, it has gone public with its decision, and issued advertisements in the local press saying it would consider and accept maps for development in the area.
As reported by ThePrint, the notification of the area under the Manoeuvres, Field Firing and Artillery Practice Act, 1938, meant that while land could be privately owned, sold and bought in the area, its use was limited to agricultural practice. Construction and commercial activity were prohibited in the area since it is located right next to large swathes of Army land where the Army carries out its field firing practice, making humans, animals and properties in the area susceptible to injury, harm or damage.
In November last year, the ADA had passed an order saying that it would not accept any maps for development or construction across the 5,419 hectares of notified land in response to an order of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court. The order was passed in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Ayodhya-based lawyer Praveen Kumar Dubey, alleging encroachment into the buffer zone.
“State land as entrusted to the Ministry of Defence cannot be allowed to be encroached upon or dissipated otherwise in derogation of law,” the court had observed.
In compliance with this order, the ADA had said it would not accept any maps for development or construction in the area.
However, through its press release issued now, the ADA has removed Majha Jamthara from the scope of its earlier order.
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Opposition questions denotification of the land
Speaking to ThePrint, Dubey asked: “How can they do this while the matter is still sub-judice?”
He added: “Moreover, why have they done this now, and not two months ago when they actually de-notified Majha Jamthara? The larger question over why only Majha Jamthara has been notified still remains to be answered — it is obviously to benefit big industrialists.”
ThePrint contacted the chairman and the secretary of the ADA, and the district magistrate of Ayodhya, through calls and WhatsApp messages, but received no response. This report will be updated if and when responses are received.
Responding to the report published by ThePrint last week, senior Congress leader Pawan Khera said, “Do you want to know what they actually do while hiding behind religion and nationalism? Land notified as buffer zone for Army Training is first bought by Adani, Ravi Shankar & Baba Ramdev and is then de notified by the governor.”
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Sanjay Singh accused the Modi government of “capturing” Army land in Ayodhya, and handing it over to its “friends”.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
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