RTI exposes illegal farming on school land in Sirsa village

An RTI application has revealed that land belonging to a government school in Rohan village was being farmed illegally by a local resident, even though the school administration and the Education Department claimed to have no knowledge of the encroachment.

The matter surfaced after resident Harpreet Singh filed an RTI seeking details about the illegal occupation of land owned by the village’s primary and middle school. He requested information on the actions taken by the school and the department, the reasons for failing to fence the land and the names of officials responsible for the negligence.

A village-level land measurement, carried out in the presence of former sarpanch Gurjant Singh, patwari Darshan Singh and school staff, confirmed that a 35-foot-wide stretch extending across two acres, being cultivated from the fields of villager Raj Singh, belonged to the school. Following the findings and intervention by the village panchayat, Raj Singh vacated the land and returned possession to the school.

However, the written response from the Baragudha BEO and the school management surprised villagers. They stated that there was “no encroachment” on school land and admitted they had never conducted any measurement.

Harpreet Singh said the incident reflected negligence and a lack of awareness among education authorities regarding school assets. He has demanded immediate fencing and proper protection of the recovered land.