A local court of Alwar has set aside, declaring illegal, a 13-year-old auction of the historic Thanagazi Fort situated along the entrance of the Sariska Tiger Sanctuary.
The fort, spread over a 22.44-hectare area, was auctioned by the Alwar District Nazul (Government) Property Disposal Committee of the local panchayat in 2013.
The Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate Narendra Kumar Meena, while deciding in the Gram Panchayat versus Rajasthan Government case in the matter, has held that the fort’s land belongs to the Forests Department and non-forest activities could not be allowed on the land; accordingly, the auction was illegal.
The court also held that the provisions of the Conservation of Forests Act 1980 are also applicable to this forest land, which did not allow activities like auction.
The judge ordered that the amount of the land cost raised in auction be paid back to the buyer, along with 6 per cent interest.
As per the case history, the land of the fort was transferred to the Forests Department by the General Administration (Properties) Department (GAD) on November 16, 1999.
Accordingly, the Forest Department had appealed before the District Collector against the auction of 2013. However, the appeal was dismissed.
Being situated at the Kakawadi Gate of the Sariska sanctuary, the state Forest Minister Sanjay Sharma aspires to develop this historic monumental location as an eco tourism site, a forest department spokesman said.