But the truth is that 'khaali zameen dekh kar munh mein paani aana' is the feeling most politicians in Madhya Pradesh are getting these days. With connivance of builders and land mafia, politicians are seizing and selling off precious properties across state.
In this background, the High Court's verdict against state government's plan to sell Minto Hall and land near TT Nagar, acquires even greater importance.
The post on BJP government's land grabbing in Madhya Pradesh was published on this blog two years ago (See photo on the left). Read Butchers of Bhopal: Cutting 1,000 trees for CBD. Link.
The state government had decided to give away vast chunk of land in the heart of Bhopal to Gammon India for Central Business District (CBD) and later another prime property--Minto Hall-- was given at throwaway price to the land sharks.
But the Bhopal Citizen Forum and another NGO took the case to court and the Jabalpur Hight Court quashed the notification of changing land use for the projects & asking government to have a re-look into both the plans.
At the site of proposed CBD, hundreds of trees were felled and killed by giving them poisonous injections. Bhopal residents should have taken to streets but they didn't show much the much needed outrage against these ridiculous projects.
However, the court finally saw the absurdity of the two projects and has rightly scolded the government for the manner in which land was transferred. The court also said that if these projects are okayed, it will make the life of citizens hell in a city where trees are constantly felled and every available property is up for commercial activity.
