Notice issued to Rajiv Gandhi Trust in Rae Bareli

Lucknow: The district administration has issued a notice to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust for using 10,000 square feet land in Uttar Pradesh`s Rae Bareli that belongs to the state, an official said on Thursday.

The Trust is giving vocational training to a group of local women on that land.

The district officials said that the land was never transferred to the Trust, hence it was illegal.

They said the land had been earmarked for various activities of the state government like community health centres, schools, and other community facilities.

The illegal use by the Trust came to light during a recent review of such plots.

Officials said that a notice has been sent to the local office bearers of the Trust and they were awaiting a response.

"If we are not satisfied with the response, a final notice will be sent and after that action will be taken to vacate the land," an official added.

The land was earmarked in 1982 for vocational training for women by the then District Magistrate but while the Trust started work on the land under the Rajiv Gandhi Women Development Project, there has been no transfer of land thereafter.

The Trust does not have any papers to show their possession of the land.

Rae Bareli is the parliamentary constituency of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the district Congress leaders say the land was given to Thakur Das Trust in 1984.

Since the land was lying vacant, a project to provide provisional training to hundreds of women was started, the Trust officials said. They also said there has been no misuse of the land in any form.

They said that a legal team of the Trust was studying the notice and would respond soon.