HC seeks Delhi govt reply on land owners' plea to transfer ownership to State to build school

The Delhi High Court Wednesday sought response of Delhi government on a 'unique' plea by a land's owners who are willing to transfer their ownership of the land to the State to build a school on it.

Justice Prathiba M Singh said since the petitioners have come up with a unique prayer where they wish to give their right in a private land to the government, the authorities shall consider the plea expeditiously.

The high court listed the matter for further hearing on April 30.

The petition filed by the two sons and a daughter of one Mansa Ram said they are willing to transfer ownership of the land measuring 5000 sq yards in north east Delhi’s Karawal Nagar to the Delhi government to build a school.Advocate Ashok Agarwal, representing the petitioners, said they had sent a request letter to the government in June 2019 to transfer ownership of the land from them to the State but unfortunately the authorities are just sitting over it.Mansa Ram died in 2009 leaving behind his three children as legal heirs.

The plea said as the land is lying vacant, it is being misused by anti-social elements of the area and the petitioners want to transfer ownership of the land unconditionally to the government to build a multi-storey senior secondary school there.

“There is an urgent need for a government school in the area as it is densely populated. A number of students want to shift from private schools to government schools as the parents particularly during pandemic are unable to pay children school fees,” it said.

The counsel said such inactions are bad in law as it violates the right to education of thousands of students of Karawal Nagar who wish to get admitted in government school as guaranteed under the Constitution.