Ramdev's trust moves HC against land cancellation by HP govt

Shimla: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth on Sunday approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court challenging cancellation of lease of about 28 acres of land by the state government. In its writ petition, the trust has sought possession of the land given to it by the previous BJP government on a 99 year lease. [caption id=“attachment_639136” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev. AFP[/caption] The case has been listed for February 27, and the state government has already filed a caveat. About 28 acres of land near Sadhupul in Solan district was given to the Yogpeeth by the previous BJP government in 2010 for token lease of Rs 1 per year for a period of 99 years. After coming to power, the Congress government cancelled the land lease on February 19. And on February 22, the Himachal authorities, in a swift but peaceful move, took over the land given to Ramdev’s trust. The Yogpeeth mentioned in its petition that the state government had entered into the agreement to lease the land for development of health tourism, growing of herbs and developmet of medical science. The land was given to the trust through a valid deed and it had incurred an expenditure of over Rs. 11 crore on development of land and other infrastructure, the trust said. Alleging that the state government had taken over the possession of the land in an ‘illegal manner’, the petition said that once the lease was entered, the same can only be terminated as per terms of the lease or through process of law. In its petition, the trust pointed out that the government has even issued a show cause notice as per clause 10 of the terms and condition of lease deed. The petitioner claimed that the government has violated the principles of natural justice and therefore the action of state government is bad. PTI