Sets
aside panchayat order, disallows upcoming DAV University to use
village common land
Deepkamal
Kaur
Tribune
News Service
Jalandhar,
June 9
In
a major setback to the management of the upcoming DAV University on
Pathankot Road, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside an
order of the Sarmastpur village panchayat by disallowing the
university to include a village common land as a part of its campus.
The
DAV College Management Committee had managed to exchange 4 kanal 17
marla from the gram panchayat for setting up DAV University in lieu
of another land nearby measuring 6 kanals through orders dated
September 21, 2011. Five petitions were filed against the orders
wherein residents claimed that they had been using the village land
(khasra no. 342 and 193) as paths to their fields and the decision
had deprived them access to their land.
The
university authorities had also offered to provide the panchayat with
another passage which would be metalled and all expenses were to be
borne by the university. Besides, the university authorities also
offered fee concession to the poor and disabled persons of Sarmastpur
and adjoining villages, admission on priority and jobs to residents.
However,
the court found that Section 5 of the Punjab Village Common Lands
(Regulation) Act 1961 had not been fully complied with during the
exchange of land. The section reads: “A panchayat, if it is of
opinion that it is necessary so to do for the benefit of the
inhabitants of the village, may with the prior approval of the
government transfer any land in shamilat deh by exchange with the
land of an equivalent (value)”. The court said that the resolution
and other supporting material must reveal that the exchange was
‘necessary’ for the benefit of the inhabitants.
The
judgment reads that the exchange rather was necessary for DAV
University as the village path through the campus was rather
perceived as a difficulty and interruption for the authorities
themselves. “A necessity of the university cannot be said to be a
necessity of inhabitants of the village,” it is mentioned.
Even
as the counsel for the university pointed towards the benefits of
getting two kanals in excess, metalled road, preferential admission,
fee concession and jobs, the judges contended that these did not did
not fulfil the criteria of necessity as set out in the 1964 rules.
“If
submissions made by counsel are accepted, it would lead to all sorts
of unscrupulous elements offering extra land to the gram panchayat
and divesting it of its prime property. The fact that the university
may have raised construction over the land of the paths cannot be a
reason enough to reject the petition. We allow the petition and set
aside panchayat order. We, however, grant an opportunity to the
government to reconsider the matter and determine whether the
exchange is necessary for the benefit of villagers. The needful be
done within a month of receipt of copy,” the judgment reads.
The
case
The
DAV College Management Committee had managed to exchange 4 kanal 17
marla from the gram panchayat for setting up DAV University in lieu
of another land nearby measuring 6 kanals through orders dated
September 21, 2011. Five petitions were filed against the orders
wherein residents claimed that they had been using the village land
(khasra no. 342 and 193) as paths to their fields and the decision
had deprived them access to their land.
Copyright:
The Tribune Trust, 2007
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