Ghugghus councillor accuses Lloyds Metals of grabbing Shantinagar land worth Rs 7 crore

Meena Chand Morpaka, leader of the BJP group in the Ghugghus Municipal Council, has made serious allegations against Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited. She alleges that the company grabbed about Rs 7 crore worth of land belonging to the people of Shantinagar to build a private hospital, and closed a public road by building a retaining wall across it. Morpaka has given a written complaint to the council's chief officer seeking legal action against the company.

According to Morpaka's complaint, the Shantinagar settlement, with more than 55 houses, once stood behind Lloyds Metals. The company needed the settlement's land for its expansion, and an agreement was signed between the company and Shantinagar's residents on May 14, 1996. Under it, the company was to buy 1.38 hectares of land and hand it over to the project-affected residents.

The allegation is that the company got a layout of 62 plots and open space approved on this land. But about 2,600 square metres (27,975 square feet) of it was withheld in the name of an "area for future development" instead of being given to the residents. Morpaka has said in the complaint that the company is now building a private hospital on this very spot.

A public road had been built from the Chandrapur road to Shantinagar through this same spot. On November 30, 2019, the then gram panchayat passed a resolution to concrete the road. The road was subsequently concreted using funds from the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana. The company has now put up a retaining wall, blocked the road and demolished part of it, leading to the dispute.

Morpaka has also questioned the role of the Ghugghus Municipal Council. The council passed Resolution No. 14 on April 29, 2026, permitting a change to the road. Morpaka alleges that before the public road was closed, the 30 days' prior notice and the process of inviting objections, both required by law, were not completed.

The council issued a public notice on April 30. Two people, including Amit Borkar, filed objections to it. On June 29, 2026, Resolution No. 19 was passed, which decided that a meeting of councillors, Shantinagar residents and company representatives would be called and a decision taken at a special general body meeting. Morpaka clarified that no resolution making a final decision has been passed since.

Morpaka therefore claims that the company has never received final permission to close the public road or to use the land for the hospital. She has demanded that the ongoing construction be stopped, the public road be restored to its earlier state, the disputed land be returned to its original condition, and that an impartial inquiry be held into the company as well as the role of the council administration.