A bungalow owned by Pradeep Kishan husband of Arundhati Roy in the hill resort of Panchmarhi, 250-km South-east of Bhopal, is at the centre of a row for the second time in three years.
In 2003, the elevated bungalow overlooking twin hillocks and vast rolling greens in Bariyam village was found to be set in notified forest land, inviting action under a state law that bars purchase and sale of such land. The case is going on in Jabalpur High Court.
Notices have been sent to Arundhati Roy'shusband and three others for encroaching the vanvasi land in Madhya Pradesh.
Now, SDM Niyaz Ahmad of Pipariya has received another complaint against Arundhati'shusband and three others, including Aradhana Seth, sister of writer Vikram Seth. Vijay Singh, a vanvasi, has accused them of encroaching the vanvasi land.
In his affidavit, Vijay has said that the four have constructed a cemented road leading to their bungalows without bothering to obtain permission or pay adequate compensation.
Ahmad has slapped notices on the four asking them to remove the ?encroachment? within 15 days or face action.
Confirming that notices have been sent, tehsildar S.L. Solanki said prima facie, land survey number 12-2 and 3-4 appears to have been encroached.
As her husband faces action on these complaints, the writer and an activist (in picture) has been fighting for the underprivileged.
After Pradeep Kishan bought the 4,346-sq ft plot in 1994, the government filed a suit arguing that the Forest Act of 1972 banned the sale of land in notified forest areas.
Arundhati, a campaigner for the rights of Bhopal gas survivors and villagers displaced by the Sardar Sarovar Dam, now faces sarcasm from opponents. It is being said that her husband is trampling on the rights of hundreds of people who do not have an Arundhati Roy to speak for them.
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