Madhya Pradesh: School Built for Villagers Faces Demolition Over ‘No NOC’; Locals Allege Communal Bias

Betul: Dhaba is a village located on the southern border of Madhya Pradesh in Betul district, adjacent to Maharashtra. There are no private schools in the village and only one government school, which villagers say is not good enough. Those who can afford to send their children to private schools send them to the nearest one situated 8 kilometres away, while a few others are more than 20 kilometres away.

Abdul Naeem, a resident of the village, unsatisfied with the quality of education in the government school, decided in 2022 to send his children to a private English-medium school in Pratwada, about 10 kilometres inside the Maharashtra border and about 25 kilometres from Dhaba village. 

Naeem runs a hardware shop and meets his children once a week. In 2024, the 40-year-old then decided to invest around Rs 20 lakh and open an English-medium school in Betul itself so that villagers like him wouldn’t have to send their children far away to study.

“It was difficult for me to meet my children every week and take care of them. I thought opening a similar school in my own village would be helpful to many like me and those who could not afford transport and other expenses, villagers would also be able to get good education in the village itself,” he tells The Wire.

Construction of the school building was almost complete when, on January 13, 2026, Betul’s panchayat sachiv Pawan Tiwari arrived with a bulldozer, few policemen and the sub-divisional magistrate of Betul, Ajeet Meravi. A part of the school building was then demolished.

While a sarpanch is the elected head of a gram panchayat, the sachiv is appointed by the administration.

Abdul Naeem’s school before and after the demolition. Photo: By arrangement

In an interview with a local YouTube channel, district collector Narendra Kumar Suryavanshi was heard saying that the demolition drive was carried out by the panchayat and that the police were present only to maintain peace, at the request of the panchayat.

However, the collector’s claim that the demolition was carried out on the direction of the panchayat is questionable. In a video recorded during the demolition drive, accessed by The Wire, the panchayat sachiv can be seen supporting the demolition, while the village sarpanch, Ramrati Devi, can be heard requesting to the SDM that the demolition of the school building be stopped. Despite this, part of the school was demolished.

In the video, a person can be heard confronting the SDM during the demolition drive: “Give me one name, one case, one construction in this village site where an NOC was taken before construction.” The person then gives several examples of constructions without NOC in the village, which the SDM and the sachiv ignore.

A villager alleged that sachiv Tiwari's brother runs a private school around five kilometres from the village, where most private-school-going children from the village study. Hence, he was allegedly acting to protect his brother’s business.

Abdul Naeem’s uncle, Mobin Khan, can also be seen in the video alleging that the demolition was discriminatory on religious grounds, and that Tiwari was misusing his position to benefit his brother’s school. The SDM and sachiv ignore him in the video.

The Wire tried to contact Tiwari but he did not respond to any questions. 

According to the villagers, a rumour was spread that Abdul Naeem wanted to open a madrassa in the guise of a school, which they say they did not believe. Sarpanch Ramrati Devi’s husband Madan Kangale alleged that the SDM first came on 10 January and discussed a madrassa being built in the village.

“There was never going to be a madrassa. It was a rumour spread by those who wanted to stop the construction,” said Kangale. 

Abdul Naeem had applied for certification under the Madhya Pradesh Board as an English-medium school. The rooms in the building are marked Nursery, LKG, etc., which further disproves the madrassa claim.

Kapil Kavade, a resident of Dhaba and farmer by profession said, “Hum sabko pata tha school hi banne wala hai. Bas Abdul Naeem ke liye unka naam haanikarak ho gaya. Kisi gair-musalmaan ko aaj tak NOC lete hue nahi dekha. (We all knew it was going to be a school. Abdul Naeem’s identity became harmful for him. I’ve never seen any non-Muslim taking NOC before a construction in the village.)”

“I have never been involved in any religious activities. I do not know how this rumour about me building a madrassa spread,” Abdul Naeem said.

“Even if it was going to be a madrassa, how would it be illegal?” asked Hemant Kavde, another resident. “There is already an RSS-run hostel in the village, which they do not oppose. They are opposing this school because they do not want us tribals to get quality education,” he alleged.

The Wire has accessed a letter submitted to the Betul collector, signed by multiple villagers, requesting a stay on the demolition and permission to continue construction, stating that the school would “contribute to education and employment in the village”.

Abdul Naeem has moved a court in Betul seeking a stay.

“I don’t want any action against any individual or any compensation for the demolition. I just want my school to be built, and I am ready to pay a fine for my ignorance in not getting an NOC. I didn’t know that one needs an NOC for construction,” he said.

Section 55 of the MP Panchayat Raj Avam Gram Swaraj Adhiniyam, 1993, states that any construction requires prior NOC from the panchayat. However, all villagers The Wire interviewed claim this rule has never been enforced before and that they are seeing it applied for the first time in Abdul Naeem’s case.

When the SDM and sachiv arrived with the police to demolish the structure, a video accessed by The Wire shows, the sarpanch said, “Leave the building and please do not touch it. He will complete the required procedures later.” 

This suggests that the demolition was carried out solely at the insistence of the sachiv, whom villagers also accuse of spreading the madrassa rumour, to catalyse discriminatory action by the district administration to protect his brother’s and relatives’ school businesses.

A screengrab from the video in which sarpanch Ramrati Devi (right) requests the SDM (left) to stop the demolition.

The Wire tried to contact the SDM and the collector but was unsuccessful as their assistants denied their availability.

Notably, the demolition of part of Abdul Naeem’s building violates Supreme Court guidelines on demolitions, the breach of which amounts to contempt of court. The guidelines mandate a 15-day prior notice, which must be affixed to the property. 

Abdul Naeem alleges that he neither received any personal notice nor found one affixed to the under-construction school building. While the sachiv claims in the video that he affixed the notice two days before the demolition, this would still constitute a violation of the 15-day requirement.

Abdul Naeem said that while he and other villagers were visiting the collector’s office to request a stay on the demolition, his building was demolished without prior notice. 

In the video, Tiwari can be seen claiming that notice had been served. Abdul Naeem countered this, stating that the sachiv came at night when he was not present, pasted the notice, took a photograph, and removed it immediately.

“I don’t know why Pawan did this. We had good relations before that day. He was like my big brother,” Abdul Naeem said, his voice heavy.

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