Not just that. “The gene bank of these valuable fruit-bearing tress will be destroyed for ever. It will seriously affect horticulture prospects of the farmers in this belt,” says HARP’s Principal Scientist Shivendra Kumar.

Even Pawar had underlined the benefits: “This research centre (HARP) has been working on different projects for the past 27 years...It has developed 29 new varieties of fruits and vegetable crops and Jharkhand farmers are benefiting from its techniques developed here. So my request is to settle this land where this institution is situated.”

But Koda clearly ignored this. While he declined to comment, Speaker of the Jharkhand Assembly Alamgir Alam — one of the beneficiaries if the plan goes through — says that the government is committed to taking the land. “The state Land Revenue Department has to transfer the title of this land to the housing society. We have asked officials to do the needful,” said Alam.