Chamarajanagar: Days after Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, a member of the erstwhile Mysore Royal Family, wrote to Chamarajanagar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Shilpa Nag staking claim to over 5,135 acres of land, residents of Siddaiahnapura met the DC yesterday, urging her not to register their village land in her (Pramoda Devi) name.

In a letter dated Mar. 20, addressed to the DC and other senior officers, Pramoda Devi requested that khatas (property records) be issued in her name for properties she claimed belonged to the late Maharaja of Mysore.

The properties listed include: 4,445 acres in Attugulipura, approximately 150 acres across various survey numbers in Haradanahalli, 63 acres in Boodhithittu, about 75 acres in Karadihalla, 190 acres in Kannikere, 199 acres in Survey Number 563 of Ummathuru, 13 acres in Basavanapura and Janana Mantapa and its garden in Chamarajanagar town.

According to her, the land spans multiple villages and survey numbers across Chamarajanagar district and forms part of the Royal Family’s private estate, as per an agreement signed between the Maharaja of Mysore and the Union Government on January 23, 1950.

Villagers fear eviction

However, villagers from Siddaiahnapura, formerly known as Jayachamarajendra Puram, said they have been living there for decades. They questioned where they should go with their families if the Royal Family’s claim was accepted. They pointed out that the land was originally donated by Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, the then ruler of Mysore, and that now — just as efforts are underway to convert the village into a revenue settlement — Pramoda Devi has objected.

Fearing eviction, the villagers pleaded with the DC not to register the land in her name under any circumstance. “We have nowhere else to go,” they said.

The villagers still commemorate Jayachamaraja Wadiyar’s birth anniversary every year with a procession, carrying his portrait. “He donated 1,035 acres to our village and in 1982 when B. Rachaiah was a Minister, land documents were issued to us,” said Nagaraju, a resident. “Even today, we live invoking the King’s name.”

Joint survey

Siddaiahnapura has around 300 to 350 houses and villagers had previously applied for revenue village status last year. The Revenue and Forest Departments even conducted a joint survey, verifying documents door to door. The intent was to confirm Government ownership of the land and submit a report for the Government to formally declare it as revenue land. “We were about to send Siddaiahnapura’s files for revenue conversion when we received Pramoda Devi Wadiyar’s letter,” said DC Shilpa Nag. “This has caused anxiety among the villagers. However, as per available records, the land belongs to the Government,” she added.

She further clarified that although Pramoda Devi Wadiyar has filed a complaint, she has not submitted any supporting documents or Court orders. “The villagers need not worry,” the DC assured. “Their village is on track to be declared a revenue village.”