Rajasthan stakes claim to erstwhile Jaipur state properties across 4 UP cities | Agra News
AGRA: Rajasthan govt has staked claim to ownership rights over properties belonging to erstwhile Jaipur princely state in Agra, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Mathura, prompting UP govt to reopen revenue and ownership records stretching back more than seven decades. Documents accessed by TOI showed Rajasthan chief secretary V Srinivas asked UP govt to record the properties in Rajasthan’s name, following which UP Board of Revenue commissioner directed DMs of all four districts to verify records and submit reports.Rajasthan based its claim on Article VI(2)(c) of Rajasthan Covenant signed in 1949, read with subsequent merger-era records from 1952, maintaining that properties of former Jaipur state situated outside Rajasthan passed to Rajasthan govt after integration. The claim has since triggered scrutiny of old sale deeds, mutations, development schemes and present possession because several of these properties changed hands or were developed decades after the princely states ceased to exist.In Agra, Rajasthan’s claim covers around 100 bighas at Jaipur House, two mansions, Sadashiv Man Kameshwar Temple and a strip of road land. The area today bears little resemblance to a princely estate: Jaipur House has developed into a densely populated residential and commercial locality and houses Agra Development Authority (ADA), GST Bhawan and offices of BJP and RSS.Agra administration’s preliminary examination, however, has thrown up records that could complicate Rajasthan’s claim. Documents showed that 59 bighas and 17 biswas under Khasra No. 554 in Khataina village were purchased through a registered deed on May 31, 1969, by then-chief municipal officer of Agra Municipal Corporation from property officer of Rajasthan PWD. Officials examining the wider Jaipur House estate have separately found old records covering around 100 bighas, making the history of individual parcels and subsequent transactions crucial to deciding present ownership.ADA vice-chairperson M Arunmouli told TOI, “Examination of the documents makes it clear that the land was purchased by Municipal Corporation from Rajasthan govt’s PWD. A report is being prepared and sent to state govt. Further action will be taken as per the decision taken at govt level.”The paper trail goes back even further. Agra Improvement Trust began proceedings to acquire Jaipur estate land in 1951, but the process stopped in 1954 following objections. Later, under a Sept 11, 1974 notification issued under Urban Planning and Development Act, properties of Agra Improvement Trust vested in ADA, which now holds ownership and development rights over land covered by Jaipur House scheme.The Rajasthan claim has created a much larger immediate impact in Prayagraj, where authorities identified 1,263 houses and shops spread over 35.25 acres in Katra Sawai Jai Singh. District administration temporarily stopped sale and purchase of these properties while officials verify old ownership entries, mutations and present possession, effectively putting transactions across a sizeable part of the locality on hold until the record exercise is completed.Similar checks have begun in Varanasi and Mathura. Rajasthan has claimed 44 houses in Varanasi’s Manmandir locality along with Manmandir Ghat, while in Mathura its claim covers around 2.16 acres, including six rooms at Jaswantganj Dharamshala. Revenue and municipal authorities in both districts are examining historical records before sending their findings to UP govt.UP authorities must now reconcile Rajasthan’s merger-era documents with registered sales, subsequent govt transfers, development-authority records, mutations and decades of private possession before determining whether any of the properties can still legally be recorded in Rajasthan’s name.
