Jaipur/Bhopal: Rajasthan has accused neighbouring BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh of encroaching on 871.10 hectares of reserved forest land in Jhalawar district and leasing about 130 hectares of it to a private company for a 100 MW grid-connected captive solar project, triggering an inter-state land dispute that has now reached top govt levels.Rajasthan chief secretary V Srinivas has convened a high-level meeting Friday to decide the state’s next course of action. He has already chaired two meetings on the dispute, including one on April 15.Official documents accessed by TOI allege that construction on the disputed land has continued despite the boundary issue between the two states remaining unresolved and despite repeated notices from the Jhalawar district administration and the forest department.The matter has gained urgency because if Madhya Pradesh’s claim is accepted, about 870 hectares will be shaved off Rajasthan’s notified forest area in official records.Rajasthan Head of Forest Forces Arijit Banerjee told TOI, “I have written to the HoFF (MP) that the land is notified as reserved forest in Rajasthan records since 1961 and no non-forestry activity can be permitted.”Rajasthan govt documents show that Madhya Pradesh Jal Nigam Maryadit awarded the project to infrastructure firm Dilip Buildcon, after which installation work began. Sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that the owners of the private company are close to a Union minister from MP.In a letter dated Feb 24, 2026, the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Jhalawar, informed the Mandsaur collector that illegal construction was under way on Khasra nos. 236/1 and 1423 in the Ghughwa forest block of Singhpur village. The DCF said the company was served a stop-work notice on Feb 7, but non-forestry activities resumed on Feb 19.The letter alleged MP officials and company representatives continued work with JCBs and levelling machines despite objections, in violation of the Rajasthan Forest Act, 1953, and the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980.Madhya Pradesh, meanwhile, rejected Rajasthan’s charge. Additional chief secretary, new and renewable energy department in Madhya Pradesh, Manu Srivastava, said the solar project had been allotted to MP Jal Nigam for supplying drinking water across the state and was located in Suwasra tehsil of Mandsaur district. “The land falls within Madhya Pradesh. We have already shared all relevant records with the Rajasthan govt after the dispute arose,” he said.Mandsaur collector Aditi Garg said revenue records relating to the land had already been shared with the Rajasthan govt. An MP revenue department official added, “The Rajasthan welcome gate has been built based on maps prepared by the Madhya Pradesh govt. Moreover, elections to two gram panchayats in the area have been conducted by the Madhya Pradesh administration for years, further establishing our jurisdiction.”While MP officials said documents submitted to Rajasthan include revenue records of Dhanwada and Ramnagar villages in Madhya Pradesh, and GIS maps showing govt, private and project-allotted land, among others things, minutes of a meeting chaired by Rajasthan chief secretary (TOI has a copy), have designated the MP habitations as encroachments and have also served notices on squatters.Rajasthan has also cited older records to assert ownership. A Feb 8, 2026, letter (no. 1015) addressed to the DM, Mandsaur, the Jhalawar collector, said, “According to the 1911 land record map of village Singhpur, the disputed land has been an integral survey number of village Singhpur. Following the formation of the state of Rajasthan on March 30, 1949, it has continuously formed part of the state’s revenue records. Thus, it is evident that the land has belonged to village Singhpur, tehsil Pachpahad, district Jhalawar, Rajasthan, since 1911, that is, even prior to the revenue record referred to by you. Therefore, there is no scope for any doubt in this regard.”An official source, on condition of anonymity, said, “Rajasthan constituted a joint survey team on Feb 21 and invited Madhya Pradesh officials to participate, but no representative attended. The DCF requested that all construction remain suspended until the survey was completed and the boundary dispute resolved. But work is continuing on and off to date.”The latest paper trail on the persisting dispute is an SDM report of May 22, in which SDM, Bhawanimandi (Jhalawar), citing the Land Settlement Officer’s report, concluded that khasra no. 1423, measuring 28.18 hectares, and khasra no. 236/1, measuring 842.91 hectares, are geographically and legally situated within Singhpur revenue village in Rajasthan. The report further alleged that the private company, with the support of the Madhya Pradesh govt, was continuing construction of the solar project.The disputed land comprises khasra nos. 1423 and 236/6, which, according to records, fall in Rajasthan and were notified as reserved forest in 1961 under the Rajasthan Forest Act, 1953. Madhya Pradesh is alleged to be claiming rights over the notified forest land.Green lawyer Tapeshwar Singh Bhati said, “Rajasthan risks losing a huge chunk of land to Madhya Pradesh for non-forestry activity if the state does not contest the matter effectively. The CM and top officials should intervene and take a firm stand to protect this land.”
