How can we prevent land takeover and proceed with partitioning?

My great-grandfather purchased an agricultural land in my hometown in 1914. He had four sons (my grandfathers) who attempted to partition the property among themselves, but were unable to do so due to their unwillingness to compromise. They did, however, change the ownership document (patta) to include all four of their names. The property remains undivided among my grandfathers and has not been used by any of us. All of them have since passed away. Now, the village panchayat chairman is trying to take over the land to build a water tank, even though the patta is still in my grandfathers' names. Is there anything we can do to prevent this and proceed with partitioning the land among the family?