The Bettahalasur Gram Panchayat has decided to cancel a resolution that would have leased five acres to a real estate company for a 99-year lease after villagers mounted protests. The body had earlier passed the resolution on July 20 to lease the land for a plant nursery to a group that already owns neighbouring land. The decision to withdraw followed a discussion on July 29 and a subsequent meeting convened on Monday August 3.

Villagers argued that the site, registered under Survey No. 223/3 at Tarahunise village, had been recorded in the name of the Gram Panchayat after a past exchange involving a nearby settlement that dates back over 300 years. They raised concern about the transfer and about the panchayat seeking the long lease for land they valued at over Rs 1 billion (Rs 1 bn). The protest prompted scrutiny of the process and calls for the resolution to be scrapped.

The GP president said the opposition was unduly raising the matter and that the panchayat had not intended to permit any project without informing all members. She indicated that the files would need to be forwarded to the executive officer and then to the zilla panchayat and the state government for a final decision. The Panchayat Development Officer acknowledged that the 99-year clause had been overlooked when the file was processed and that she had provided a thumb impression in error.

She said the request would now be cancelled in writing. Another official noted that the panchayat does not have unilateral power to grant such long leases and that guidelines require government approval, and that a formal meeting on August 3 would record the rejection. The release added that two other groups had also approached the body seeking a lease for the tract, which measures five acres and neighbours a settlement that villagers describe as two and a half acres in extent.