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A local resident’s vision of bringing education to a remote tribal region in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district has been left in ruins after administrative bulldozers partially demolished a newly constructed school building. The action followed a wave of false rumours branding the under-construction school as an unauthorised "madrasa."
The vision and the investment
Abdul Naeem, a resident of Dhaba village in the Betul district, had invested nearly Rs 20 lakh, a combination of family life savings and borrowed funds, to build a private school. The institute was intended to serve children from nursery to Class 8, providing a local alternative for families who currently send their children miles away to access decent education.
“I decided to construct the school on my private land so that my village can progress,” Naeem explained. He had already secured a commercial land diversion and a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the local panchayat. On December 30, he formally submitted his application to the School Education Department along with all required land documentation.
False rumours lead to demolition
Despite the legal steps taken, construction was derailed by a sudden misinformation campaign. Rumours began circulating that Naeem was building a madrasa rather than a standard school. Naeem pointed out the absurdity of the claim, noting that Dhaba village is home to only three Muslim families. “How would a madrasa even function here? The building wasn't even complete, no classes, no students,” he said.
Demolition has raised several questions
The timeline of the demolition has raised several questions. On January 11, the Gram Panchayat issued a notice ordering Naeem to self-demolish the structure due to a lack of formal permission. Naeem claims that when he tried to submit his response and documentation, officials refused to accept his application.
Amid protests from villagers supporting the school, the Panchayat reversed course and issued a formal NOC on January 12. The sarpanch later confirmed there were no actual complaints about a madrasa and that consent for the school had been granted.
While Naeem and a group of supporters were travelling to the district collectorate to seek a formal meeting with the Collector, the administration moved in on January 13. Under heavy police presence and the supervision of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), a JCB machine razed the front shed and several walls.
The official stance
Sub-Divisional Magistrate Ajit Maravi defended the demolition, categorising the construction as an "encroachment." He stated that the action followed a complaint from the gram panchayat regarding rule violations. “Verification found that part of the construction fell under encroachment. Only the illegal portion has been removed, not the entire building,” Maravi said, maintaining that mandatory permissions were missing.
The landowner was ready to pay
Naeem disputes the administration’s claims, asserting that he was transparent throughout the process. He expressed heartbreak that the authorities chose destruction over dialogue. “If there was any mistake in paperwork, I was ready to pay whatever fine the government demanded,” he said.
