India, Oct. 30 -- The Maharashtra government is set to return over 3,000 acres of land spread across nine villages in Shrirampur tehsil, Ahilyanagar district, to more than 1,000 farmers or their legal heirs, after settling a dispute that lasted over a century. The British administration acquired the land in 1918 but never used it for agriculture, the purpose for which it was acquired.

According to revenue department officers, the proposal has been under consideration since 1995. It was put on cold storage once, rejected once, and approved twice-most recently on September 15. The state government's initial approval in 2024 stalled because then-Governor CP Radhakrishnan held the draft ordinance for a year before finally seeking the Preside...