dreds of cases of land disputes between farmers of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in Yamuna catchment area, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Surveyor General of India to study how the Yamuna River’s course has changed over time and its impact on the territories of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (UP).
As per the orders, the study will be conducted with the help of revenue officials from both states to resolve a long-standing land dispute. Delivering the judgment a bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Vikas Suri stated that the survey would examine how the Yamuna’s shifting course has affected land ownership in both states. The court also ordered that boundary pillars be placed between Haryana and UP after updating the official land records.
The case involves landowners from Manjhawali village in Haryana, who claim ownership of 300 bighas of land. This land, located near the Yamuna River, became part of UP’s territory after the river naturally changed course. However, in 1984, as part of a settlement under the Dixit Award, UP’s revenue records for this land were transferred to Haryana. Despite this, Haryana’s revenue officials never updated their records, leading to confusion over land ownership.
The matter was brought to the court by the after the petitioners on account of a registered sale deed are in possession of land measuring 300 Bighas comprised in Khasra Nnumbers 93, 94, 95/2, 96, 98, 99 in village Manjhawali in Yamunanagar district of Haryana.
The disputed land was situated on the banks of river Yamuna originally belonged to Pandit Gauri Shankar. It was alleged that after the change of course of Yamuna river, the land in question fell into the jurisdiction of Tehsil Secundrabad, District Bulandshahr, of Uttar Pradesh. The said land was recorded for identity purposes as Chak Manjhavali in the revenue records of Uttar Pradesh by the Revenue Officers concerned, in the Khatauni for the year 1946. However, in 1984, Uttar Pradesh’s revenue records for the disputed land were handed over to Haryana as part of the Dixit Award settlement. But Haryana’s revenue officials never updated their records, leading to confusion over ownership, it was alleged.
The court observed that it cannot be definitively said whether the Yamuna River’s course has remained unchanged over the past century. It also noted that land deposits (due to erosion or accumulation of soil) might have altered village boundaries over time, affecting ownership claims. Some villages in Haryana today might have once been part of Uttar Pradesh, officially or unofficially known as Chak Manjhawali.
The court further pointed out that historical land records, if available, are in Urdu or Persian. These must first be translated before they can be used to determine the rightful ownership of the land and update revenue records accordingly in both Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, reads the order.
