Prayagraj : A decades-old 38-acre property question has resurfaced in Sangam City, with the Rajasthan govt staking claim to ownership rights over properties of the erstwhile Jaipur princely state and Prayagraj authorities now poring over more than seven decades of revenue and ownership records to establish their present status.
DM (Prayagraj) Manish Kumar Verma on Thursday told TOI that the letter mentioned 38 acres of land at Katra, stretching from Laxmi Talkies to Manmohan Park, including Shivala Lane. Rajasthan govt had recently 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 The district authorities have deputed a three-member team led by the SDM (Sadar) to verify the properties and conduct physical inspections following a request from the Rajasthan govt to vest the properties in the Sangam City in the state. The team is scrutinising revenue and ownership records and conducting physical verification to establish the current status of the properties. To ascertain its status in the records of the land revenue department and its current physical status, the SDM (Sadar) and other competent authorities were asked to complete the necessary exercise at the earliest.
Article VI(2)-(C) of the Covenant states that any property owned by the Jaipur state outside Rajasthan would legally become the property of the Rajasthan government. With the Rajasthan govt now laying claim to 38 acres of land, decades-old structures—including homes, shops, temples and markets—exist here. The Rajasthan govt based its claim on Article VI(2)(c) of the Rajasthan Covenant signed in 1949, read with subsequent merger-era records from 1952, maintaining that properties of the former Jaipur state situated outside Rajasthan passed to the Rajasthan government after integration.
The letter mentioned that after Independence, when the Jaipur princely state merged with Rajasthan, a Covenant (agreement) was signed.
He said a team of officials had been deputed to verify revenue and ownership records stretching back more than seven decades after receiving a letter from the state’s additional land management commissioner. Once all the required documents are compiled, the report will be submitted to the authorities concerned. The team has been tasked with preparing a compiled report on the current status of the properties, including documentary and physical verification. Pointedly, Prayagraj district has the highest land area mentioned in the letter compared to Varanasi, Agra and Mathura. The chief secretary of the Rajasthan govt had dispatched a letter directing that the properties be recorded in the name of Rajasthan. The letter has prompted the UP govt to reopen revenue and ownership records stretching back more than seven decades in four UP cities, including Agra, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Mathura. The claim has since triggered scrutiny of old sale deeds, mutations, development schemes and present possession, as several of these properties changed hands or were developed decades after the princely states ceased to exist.
The Rajasthan claim has had a much larger immediate impact in Prayagraj, where authorities identified more than 1,200 houses and shops spread across 38 acres in Katra. In Agra, Rajasthan’s claim covers around 100 bighas at Jaipur House, two mansions, Sadashiv Man Kameshwar Temple and a strip of road land. In Mathura, its claim covers around 2.16 acres, including six rooms at Jaswantganj Dharamshala. Officials in Varanasi are also poring over land records and conducting physical verification to establish their present status, following a request from the Rajasthan govt to vest 44 properties in the state.
Stay updated with the latest Prayagraj news. Download the TOI App. 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.