By IANS,
Shimla : Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth Monday moved the Himachal Pradesh High Court over the state government’s action to take back possession of a chunk of prime land allotted to it in 2010 by the then BJP government.
Meanwhile, the government has allowed Baba Ramdev to hold a public function in Solan town Wednesday.
The government has taken the possession of land in an illegal manner, said the petition. “Once the lease was entered into, it can only be determined as per terms or through process of law,” it said.
The court has listed the matter for hearing Wednesday.
The petitioner said the lease deed was validly given to the trust and it had spent about Rs.11 crore for land development.
The government Friday took possession of 96.5 bighas of land near Sadhupul in Solan allotted to Patanjali Yogpeeth for setting up its branch.
The government’s plea was that the land was allotted by violating statutory provisions.
The land originally belonged to the erstwhile royal family of Patiala, to which former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh belongs.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government gave the land to the yoga guru for a one-time lease payment of Rs.17 lakh for 99 years at a token annual fee of Re.1.
Earlier, the yoga guru was scheduled to inaugurate Patanjali Yogpeeth’s first phase Feb 27.
Official sources said that after the state government’s taking back of the land, Ramdev’s followers have been demanding that the yoga guru be allowed to hold a public function in Solan town.
“The local Municipal Council has allowed Ramdev to hold a public function in Solan town Wednesday,” an official said.
The government has already clarified that there is no ban on Ramdev’s entry into the state.