Ajmer: Around 11 am, on March 31, a group of desert men clad mostly in long white kurtas, had started to gather around the divisional commissioner’s office in Ajmer, Rajasthan, carrying a common placard that read, “Oran Bachao (Save the sacred groves)”. Police had surrounded this group. These men had gathered as they resumed their march to Jaipur to protest against the corporate land grab that is destroying sacred groves in Jaisalmer.They started their march on January 21, 2026, from the Tanot Mata temple, about 30 kilometres away from the India-Pakistan border, to walk about 700 kms to Jaipur, where they intend to meet the state government officials regarding the re-categorisation of their scared forests from “wastelands” back to oran lands.What are oran lands?Jaisalmer was part of the princely states pre-independence. Situated in the desert on the western edge of India, it has a special ecosystem which used to be governed by very different rules of administration. One of these unique rules, showcased themselves in pre-independent India through a unique land law, which understood the pastoral nature of the economy, and the importance of grazing and ecological refugees in the desert with vegetation and water. The land rules were built on common understanding of the community, that the orans – the vegetated groves with high biodiversity and moisture – were necessary for survival in the desert for humans and beasts alike and hence cannot be privatised. They were considered scared and even breaking a branch or a twig was considered blasphemous for the desert communities. However, since India’s independence, many land reforms happened and land ceilings were enforced. The communities in the Jaisalmer area only managed to register some of their lands surrounding the villages on their personal name, while the rest of the grazing fields were left out. At the time, the government couldn’t also create community land ownership laws, which would have protected these sacred grove lands. As a result, out of the total 2.4 crore bigha (roughly 38,000 square kms) area of Jaisalmer, 40 lakh bigha was listed as “wasteland” in government records. Today, this wasteland is being sold off to corporations for solar projects as the government fails to see value in the oran lands situated within these lands.The Adani Group was in the limelight for this as some of the solar parks sanctioned to the company directly threaten oran lands. What makes matters murkier is the fact that last year, the Supreme Court declared oran lands as forests under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980. Moreover, the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955, empowers district collectors to conduct a cattle survey and keep half-a-bigha-per-cattle-head for grazing/per district as ‘gochar’, or cow grazing lands. Also read: What Happens When the Deserts of Rajasthan Are Taken to Build Solar Power Plants?Section 16 of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act which deals with ‘Khatedari rights’ on gochar lands clearly states that there can be no privatisation of such lands and they shall always remain as community grazing grounds. Pending a new survey by the current DM, the Jaisalmer roughly has about 15 lakh cattle feeding off the grazing lands. How, then, is it being given to companies for solar parks? Are the protocols for land transfer from oran or gochar to commercial land or revenue land being followed? What is at stake?Slowly as the clock ticked on, the slogans grew bigger and bolder. The protesters are demanding that the government reclassify at least 20 lakh bighas out of the 40 lakh-bigha-land as oran land. At the forefront is Sumer Singh Bhati, a camel herder and conservationist from Jaisalmer, who has quickly become the emerging voice for the Oran Bachao Andolan.I overheard him talking to other reporters: “We are under threat and our livelihood is on the verge of collapse. They are after us.” When it was my turn to speak with him. I asked him who it was that’s threatening them. “The corporations like Ambani-Adani,” he said. “We are all for national development but not at the cost of our orans and gochars. We will not support maldevelopment which is destroying our forest land, water ponds, cattle grazing grounds. The solar projects and the wind projects are destroying Jaisalmer and giving corporations our sacred lands.” Narrating the damages, Singh added that this “development” was directly impacting their demand for the 20 lakh bigha of oran lands.Sumer Singh Bhati (centre) and others at the Oran Bachao Andolan Yatra, in Ajmer. Photo: Indra Shekhar SinghThe movement is for the rights of “water, jungle and land,” he said, adding that it is a biodiversity hotspot for the desert. It grows hundreds of varieties of trees like Khejri, Ruhidha, Kumuth, etc, and sustains the life of cattle and humans alike.I hung around as the people marched forward on the Jaipur road, and heard talk of the Rajasthan government approaching the delegation. I then caught up with Dharmveer Singh, a young lawyer from Sakara village in Jaisalmer, who has been part of the march since its inception. “The orans are registered in the name of gods or deities so that they are safeguarded from greed, and provide sustenance to the desert communities. When we met the Rajasthan government delegation privately, they told us that we are doing good work. But when we asked them to help us officially, they were reticent. I believe the government sent their delegation to stop us from reaching Jaipur and weaken the movement,” he said.Dharmveer Singh also raised the issue of local employment, pointing out how if the solar companies don’t employ the local villagers, the only jobs created in the area will be menial or unskilled. All skilled and white collar jobs are given to outsiders. This disrupts the local economy and puts people out of work. Recent studies published in various journals also point to how the solar fields in Jaisalmer, especially the orans, are not providing employment and disturbing the human-ecology balance. For example, the projects destroy the habitat of critically endangered birds like the Great Indian Bustard and animals like desert fox and Chinkara (small deer), and also decrease the natural desert resilience. But why would the Rajasthan government be scared of Jaisalmer’s camel herders? The answer is a simple one. The Indian government was up against the power of desert folks. Bhopal Singh Jalodha, a resident of Jaislamer, explained this to us. “Since we started the march, thousands of people have joined us. In Jaisalmer and Jodhpur, we held big meetings. Until now we have covered over 200 villages and will cover about 50 more before we reach Jaipur. We are building a campaign for ecological protection,” he saidOn being asked how such a large movement was being funded, Bhopal Singh sternly replied, “We are not an NGO or a big organisation. We are village folk and camel herders, trained to walk in the desert and we all have raised our own money to complete this yatra. Village communities along the way have been very kind to us, and given us shelter and food. With the help of the goddess we shall save Jaisalmer and our orans from corporate land grabbers.”The ‘Oran Bachao’ march runs for 10 kms a day and is still enroute to Jaipur. On April 7, the Supreme Court heard a petition of the protesters and asked for written submissions on the matter. The next hearing is scheduled for April 15.Indra Shekhar Singh is an independent agri-policy analyst and writer.