Encroachment Crisis Chokes Vidarbha’s Schools and Playgrounds

thenewsdirt
Oct 20
11 min read

School encroachments in Vidarbha have emerged as a significant concern between 2020 and 2025, with multiple educational institutions across the region reporting illegal occupation of their premises.

Government schools, private institutions and university lands have faced systematic violations, with structures ranging from commercial establishments to residential buildings being constructed on educational properties.

The Nagpur Municipal Corporation and district authorities have documented numerous cases where school playgrounds, compound walls and adjacent lands have been illegally appropriated, raising questions about administrative oversight and the protection of educational infrastructure across Vidarbha.

The pattern of encroachment has persisted despite repeated complaints from school authorities and trust associations, with some cases remaining unresolved for nearly eight years before any enforcement action was taken.

Years of Illegal Occupation at Bishop Cotton School

The most documented case of school encroachment in Vidarbha during this period occurred at Bishop Cotton School near VCA Stadium in Nagpur.

According to official records, illegal commercial shops had encroached upon the school playground since 2017, with the situation remaining unaddressed until March 2025.

The Nagpur Diocesan Trust Association and school management filed multiple complaints over the years, but the structures continued to operate on educational property.

The encroachment began with what was initially a temporary paan shop, which gradually expanded into a full-fledged commercial eatery with electricity and water connections. Recently, another illegal construction adjacent to the eatery also began, which was subsequently demolished during the enforcement drive in March 2025.

The school management first raised concerns in 2011, but their repeated appeals were lost in bureaucratic delays, particularly after their locality was administratively shifted from Mangalwari Zone to Dharampeth Zone.

West Nagpur MLA Vikas Thakre intervened in the matter, filing a complaint with the Nagpur Municipal Corporation in February 2025. Thakre alleged that despite repeated complaints to Deputy Commissioner Prakash Varhade and his team, encroachers and builders were being protected.

He demanded stringent action including issuance of notices under Sections 53 and 54 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, filing of an FIR under Section 52 of the MRTP Act for criminal encroachment, and immediate disconnection of electricity, water and sewage services as per the Supreme Court order dated December 17, 2024.

The NMC finally took action on March 6, 2025, deploying two excavators along with the Dharampeth zone anti-encroachment team, city police and nuisance detection squad to demolish the structures.

Deputy Commissioner Prakash Varhade stated during the demolition operation that the illegal construction had existed on the school premises for several years, and that prior to the final action, the NMC had issued multiple notices to the encroacher.

University Land Under Prolonged Encroachment

Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyalaya land in Nagpur has faced large-scale encroachment issues documented through Right to Information applications.

According to official data disclosed in 2020, a sprawling 26.69-hectare tract of PDKV land situated between Bajaj Nagar Square and Ramdaspeth has remained under illegal occupation for over five decades.

Out of 422.72 hectares of land belonging to the Agriculture College, 26.69 hectares were under encroachment as of August 2020. Several of these encroachments date back to the period before PDKV was established in October 1969, with litigation in some cases starting as early as 1976.

Court proceedings have been ongoing since 1982, 1984, 1985, 1989 and 2000 in various encroachment cases, yet the Agriculture College has not obtained possession of land in any of these cases.

PDKV holds approximately 111.32 hectares of land in Mouza Lendhra, 9.03 hectares in Mouza Sitabuldi and 31.70 hectares in Mouza Gadga. Of this total 152.05 hectares of land in Nagpur city, 19.26 hectares is under encroachment.

As much as 2.43 hectares of total land under encroachment is occupied by slum dwellings. The university land has even named the District Collector Nagpur as an encroacher of 0.62 hectares in the Variety Talkies lease case.

The Bombay High Court took suo motu cognisance of a news report about this encroachment and converted it into a Public Interest Litigation in August 2020.

Associate Dean Prakash Kadu stated that PDKV had been writing letters since 2017 urging removal of encroachments, citing specific plot numbers from 104 to 209. The university also requested that water and electricity connections be cut off, questioning how civic amenities were provided to those illegally occupying government land.

In the District Planning Committee meeting held in August 2025, MLA Vikas Thakre raised the issue again, alleging that prominent individuals occupying PDKV land were being protected while action was taken against smaller landholders.

He criticised that despite repeated orders to remove encroachments on agricultural college land at Bajaj Nagar, large lawns and restaurants continue operating there without obtaining planning authority permission or no objection certificates from the fire department. Thakre made allegations that extortion regularly occurs at these locations.

Zilla Parishad School Replaced by Private Institution

In the Kamptee area of Nagpur, a private educational institution illegally came up in place of a defunct Zilla Parishad school.

The Gramin Uddhar Society encroached almost 15,000 square feet of land that commanded a market price of around Rs 10 crore, according to district guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule in September 2016.

The society, which was also receiving state government grants, had occupied the land since 2004. The ZP had issued almost eight notices to the Society to vacate the place over the years. Bawankule revealed that the casual approach of a zilla parishad official proved costly to the exchequer, as the society constructed what essentially became a four-storey convent on government land.

The land belonged to the Zilla Parishad Public Works Department. Out of 7,150 square feet of land, construction was done on 6,030 square feet.

The land had been acquired in the name of Gramin Bahuuddeshiya Society and tax was being paid lawfully, which gave the illegal occupation an appearance of legitimacy.

When the matter came to the notice of Guardian Minister Bawankule, he directed the ZP CEO Kadambari Balkawde to investigate and ordered demolition of the illegally constructed school building, along with recovery of the loss incurred to the government.

Illegal Schools Operating Without Permission

During the 2020-2025 period, cases emerged of educational institutions themselves operating illegally without proper authorisation in Vidarbha.

In July 2023, the education department declared two schools managed by CP & Berar Education Society as illegal for operating without requisite permissions.

The society was running two schools in Ravi Nagar and Mahal areas of Nagpur without state approval. The Ravi Nagar-based school, Annasaheb Gokhale Vidya Mandir, had applied for permission in 2017 but started admissions for the 2018-19 session without receiving the state approval.

Similarly, the Mahal-based school, Bapusaheb Kagbhat Vidya Mandir, applied for permission in 2018 and 2019 but started operations without authorisation.

A letter from the district education office dated May 15, 2023, addressed to the Ravi Nagar school principal and signed by education officer Rohini Kumbhar, directed the principal to shut the school as it was being operated without permission from the state.

The letter also directed the principal to ensure that students were accommodated in nearby schools so that their academic session would continue. However, the school not only continued operations for existing students but also started accepting admissions for the new session.

West Nagpur MLA Vikas Thakre raised the issue in the state assembly through a point of information rule. District education officer Rohini Kumbhar confirmed that the schools were closed and students were being accommodated elsewhere to avoid academic loss.

Ravindra Fadnavis of Maharashtra Rajya Shikshan Sanstha Sangh stated that there were two categories of illegal schools in Nagpur.

In the first category were schools that started operating without any approval, while the second category comprised schools that started operations after getting permission but had not renewed it annually.

He alleged that the education department was to be blamed for the second category of schools operating in the city.

Administrative Response and Enforcement Challenges

The Nagpur Municipal Corporation conducted 7,410 anti-encroachment drives across the city between January and August 2023, which translates to 32 actions a day considering that NMC did not act against encroachers on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

Of the 10 zones in Nagpur city, areas under Gandhibagh, Satranjipura and Dharampeth zones were worst affected, recording 960, 880 and 860 anti-encroachment drives respectively during the period.

Despite these numbers, no concrete solution appeared to be in sight to the problem of encroachment on public places. The NMC enforcement department and local police authorities expressed helplessness in controlling encroachments, though sources stated that massive corruption in both departments resulted in inaction.

New municipal commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari issued a Standard Operating Procedure in September 2025 mandating that officials must issue a 15-day show-cause notice before demolition of any unauthorised structure. The SOP stated that notice must be served through registered post with acknowledgement and pasted prominently on the structure.

The move followed Supreme Court directives ordering civic bodies across the country to strictly enforce laws against illegal constructions.

In July 2025, revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule informed the Maharashtra Assembly that the state would implement a stringent and standardised policy to prevent encroachments on government land, beginning with Nagpur.

He stated that instructions would be issued to the district collector and police superintendent to free encroached government land in Nagpur, and that the revenue department was preparing a concrete action plan to ensure these lands were protected.

The Comptroller and Auditor General report from 2017 found that in Jaitala village of Nagpur, land admeasuring 8.98 hectares bearing khasra number 87 had been encroached upon by educational institutions. In Kannad village of Aurangabad District, land admeasuring 6.07 hectares and 2.02 hectares was allotted in July 1976 to Shri Chattrapati Shikshan Prasarak Mandal for constructing college, hostel building and playground.

However, a measurement conducted in July 2016 found that the Mandal had occupied an excess of 2.55 hectares in addition to the land allotted.

Out of this, 2.33 hectares were resumed, but 0.22 hectares of land on which the college building was constructed could not be resumed.

Legal Framework and Systemic Issues

The Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966, requires collectors to remove encroachments and permits regularisation only after charging up to five times the market value of the land. Successive governments have consistently linked regularisation with payment.

A 2002 resolution of the Revenue and Forest Department allowed pre-1995 slum encroachments outside Mumbai to be regularised, with different charges for slum dwellers, non-slum residential users and commercial encroachers.

The Public Premises Act and Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act provide the legal framework for action against encroachments. Section 314 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act allows for removal of encroachments without prior notice under certain circumstances.

However, the Supreme Court ruling in May 2025 regarding Zudpi jungle lands in six Vidarbha districts noted that government offices and public schools were constructed on such lands, highlighting the complexity of land classification issues in the region.

Thousands of government-run schools in Maharashtra lack property documents, with over 17,490 primary schools out of 43,564 in the state still without property documents in their names as of December 2023.

Legal complications, including litigations initiated by private individuals, contribute to delays in property registration. Some cases involve lands donated to schools by ancestors, with family members now asserting claims over the properties.

Encroachment and associated risks to school properties are cited as significant concerns.

The state revenue department in July 2025 directed district administrations to upload comprehensive records of government land allotted to educational institutions and private entities as part of a transparency drive.

While some districts met the deadline, others sought additional time. The directive followed repeated concerns over land allotted for public purposes being left idle or diverted for other use.

Impact on Educational Environment

School encroachments have direct consequences for educational infrastructure and student safety. In the case of Bishop Cotton School, the encroachment occupied a significant portion of the playground, depriving students of recreational space for nearly eight years.

The structure was converted from a small shop into a full-fledged eatery with electricity and water connections, fundamentally altering the character of the school premises.

The persistence of encroachments on PDKV land has prevented the university from utilising prime urban property for agricultural education and research purposes for which it was originally designated. Students and agricultural scientists have staged protests demanding protection of the university land from further encroachments and recovery of already occupied portions.

The presence of unauthorised commercial establishments near schools raises safety concerns. MLA Thakre alleged that extortion regularly occurs at large lawns and restaurants operating on encroached PDKV land at Bajaj Nagar. Such activities in proximity to educational institutions create an unsuitable environment for students.

Reports from various parts of Vidarbha indicate that over 170 government schools in Nagpur district alone have buildings declared unsafe by the Public Works Department. Students in rural schools endure classrooms with leaking roofs, unsteady walls, poor ventilation and absent or broken toilets. The gap between schools in urban Nagpur and rural Vidarbha continues to widen.

School dropout rates in tribal and backward blocks of Vidarbha often hover around 15 to 19 per cent, especially among girls, for whom the lack of accessible, safe transport and infrastructure acts as a barrier.

Government data note that while over 96 per cent of schools officially have toilets, ground assessments reveal continued shortages and poor maintenance.

A recurring pattern across school encroachment cases in Vidarbha during 2020-2025 has been the significant time lag between initial complaints and eventual enforcement action. The Bishop Cotton School case saw an eight-year delay from 2017 to 2025. PDKV land encroachments have persisted for over five decades, with some legal proceedings ongoing since 1976.

This delay appears to stem from multiple factors including bureaucratic inertia, administrative zone transfers causing loss of institutional memory, alleged protection of influential encroachers and the absence of consistent enforcement mechanisms.

Schools and educational trusts have repeatedly approached authorities through formal complaints, RTI applications and public interest litigations, yet action often materialises only after political intervention or media attention.

The lack of updated property documents for thousands of schools makes them vulnerable to encroachment. Without clear legal documentation establishing ownership, schools face difficulties in asserting their rights when encroachments occur.

The state revenue department transparency drive, initiated in 2025, aims to address this systemic weakness, though implementation remains uneven across districts.

Municipal corporations acknowledge the challenge of preventing re-encroachment after clearance drives.

Officials have stated that encroachments continue to resurface across cities, with some noting that open plots get encroached repeatedly unless immediately converted for their designated purpose.

The issue extends beyond individual cases to reflect broader questions about land governance, inter-departmental coordination and the effectiveness of existing legal frameworks in protecting public educational infrastructure across the region.