Maharashtra government demands nazrana from war widow for allotted plot of land

If making her run around for land wasn't enough, the state government is now demanding nazrana from war widow Indira Jadhav, whose husband died in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war, for the plot of land in Ratnagiri which is to be handed to her.

According to Jadhav's counsel Avinash Gokhale, who explained to HC, a nazrana system was practised in the olden days when anyone going to visit kings would carry a gift.

Jadhav, 72, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, has once again approached the Bombay high court after state officials' latest demand for money.

The HC, on August 5, had directed the state government to ensure that not only her but even other similarly placed people are granted relief expeditiously. It had also imposed a fine of Rs75,000 on the government, and directed the district collector, Ratnagiri, to allot 300 sqm of residential land and a 10-acre agricultural plot to Jadhav.

Despite the HC order, government authorities sent her a letter, asking her to pay Rs12,000 for measuring the land, and then remain present at the land measuring office in Khed with identity proof.

After receiving the letter, she filed a civil application before the HC through advocates Gokhale and Mayuresh Modgi. Gokhale argued that, as directed by the HC, the government had already deducted Rs30,000 from the amount awarded to Jadhav (Rs75,000) based on the ready reckoner rate of 1998-99, as she was required to pay the same for the land, and the remaining Rs45,000 was credited to her bank account.

The government then took a U-turn, and said it had waived the fees for her.

And now, it is asking her to pay nazrana.

On a court query, additional government pleader Molina Thakur said she would have to take instructions as she was not aware of this.

On Tuesday, the HC agreed to Jadhav's request to appoint two people as her representatives — Prashant Torat, member of NGO Gurukrupa Sanstha, which helped her pursue a legal case, and Milind More, her nephew — to remain present when the land is being measured.

The HC has kept the matter for hearing on October 29.

Background
Indira Jadhav, who now resides in Pune, lost her husband Babaji, a sepoy in the Maratha Light Infantry, Belgaum, on October 27, 1965, in Ladakh. At the time, Jadhav was pregnant, but later delivered a stillborn baby, said her counsel Avinash Gokhale. With no support coming in, she took up tailoring before getting the job of a primary teacher in Ratnagiri. In 1971, she applied for agricultural and residential land, according to the existing government policies