Kedar Kashyap Family Company Faces Questions Over Proposed Raipur Plot And Land Records
Questions emerge over land allocation and a disputed category entry.
A dispute has emerged over the proposed reconstitution of land under the Raipur Development Authority's Labhandi-Kachna-Saddu Town Development Scheme, involving Radhika Palace Private Limited, a company in which Shanti Kashyap, wife of Chhattisgarh Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap, is listed as a director. Congress leader and Raipur-based doctor Rakesh Gupta has questioned the proposed allotment, while the RDA has denied allegations of favouritism and said the process is subject to claims and objections.
According to Gupta and reports based on the documents, the company holds about 1.33 acres in Kachna's Nalapara area. The company has been proposed a final plot numbered 25 in Saddu, measuring about 2,168 square metres or 23,327 square feet. Gupta has questioned why the reconstituted plot is located roughly a kilometre from the original holding and near the proposed MR-43 road, which is planned to be about 150 feet wide. He has sought an inquiry into the reconstitution and allotment process.
The RDA has rejected the allegations of preferential treatment. According to reports, the authority has said its policy allows landowners with larger holdings to receive plots connected to the proposed 45-metre road and that 17 landowners have received plots adjoining the main road under the same framework. The authority has also maintained that the process is not final and that claims and objections will be examined by the appropriate committee before further action is taken.
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A separate issue has arisen over the word "General" appearing in land-related records connected to the controversy. Kedar Kashyap is a Scheduled Tribe leader representing the ST-reserved Narayanpur Assembly constituency, while reports have questioned why a "General" category appears in documents associated with the land. The BJP has rejected suggestions that the minister or his family changed their caste status for the transaction, arguing that the land is held in the name of a company and that a company does not have a caste.
The Congress has sought further scrutiny of both the proposed plot allocation and the category recorded in the documents. Gupta has written to the Chief Secretary seeking an investigation, while other Congress leaders have also demanded an independent inquiry. The allegations remain contested, with the RDA maintaining that the allotment process follows its applicable rules and has not yet been finalised.
The controversy therefore centres on two separate questions — whether the proposed Saddu plot was determined in accordance with the RDA's land-reconstitution rules and why the "General" entry appears in the relevant records. Available reports indicate that the authority's claims-and-objections process is still underway, meaning the final status of the proposed allotment and any findings arising from the disputed records remain to be established.
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