Students halt construction on disputed school playground in Greater Noida

According to school officials, the other party has attempted several times over the past month to carry out construction on the land, which has long been used as the school playground

A group of students from Bihari Lal Anglo Sanskrit High School Inter College in Dankaur joined school officials and teachers on Wednesday to stop construction work on a portion of their playground that the school alleges is being encroached upon by another party, the school management said.

On Wednesday morning, students were playing on the ground when around 20 to 25 workers allegedly arrived and began construction work. School officials said about 200 students accompanied teachers who went towards the site and stopped the work. (HT Photo)

The district administration, however, said both the school and another party have claimed ownership of the land and submitted documents in support of their claims. Officials said all construction at the site has been halted while the documents are examined.

According to school officials, the other party has attempted several times over the past month to carry out construction on the land, which has long been used as the school playground.

On Wednesday morning, students were playing on the ground when around 20 to 25 workers allegedly arrived and began construction work. School officials said about 200 students accompanied teachers who went towards the site and stopped the work. Videos of the incident have since gone viral on social media.

“The school has been there for the past 78 years and we have documentation to show that the land belongs to the school. On Wednesday morning, when children were holding sports competitions on the playground, the builder sent people there to begin construction. We reported the matter to the police and were waiting for them to arrive when the children playing on the ground intervened along with school officials to stop the work. The workers then went away,” said Mahkar Singh, principal of the school.

The builder was not available for comment.

Police confirmed that there is a dispute over ownership of the land. The playground is around 300 metres from the main school premises, they said.

“The school ground is around 300 metres away from the main school complex, and another party has claimed the land that is being used as the school’s playground. There were children playing there when people began construction work. The teachers went to stop them, and the children also followed,” said Manoj Kumar, station house officer of Dankaur police station.

Although police reached the spot after being alerted through helpline number 112, they did not register a case as the matter is being examined by the district administration.

In a complaint filed with the district administration on September 24, school officials alleged that attempts to occupy the land began last month.

According to the complaint, the boundary wall of the playground was allegedly demolished around 8pm on September 19. School officials said they informed police and district administration officials by telephone that night, following which police stopped the alleged attempt to occupy the land. However, the boundary wall had been completely damaged, they alleged.

The school further alleged that on September 22, two men — one a resident of Nawada village in Dankaur and the other a resident of Junedpur village — arrived at the school with four or five people and threatened that construction work would resume after two days.

The school was established around 78 years ago and was recognised by the government in 1948, according to school officials. The semi-government institution offers classes from 1 to 12 and has around 1,800 students.

The Gautam Budh Nagar district administration said it expects to resolve the dispute within the next couple of days after examining documents submitted by both parties.

“I received the complaint about a week ago. The investigation is ongoing and we have put a halt to any ongoing construction. Both parties have made claims over the land and have submitted the relevant documentation,” said Ashutosh Gupta, subdivisional magistrate (Sadar).