The
law is going to come down on anyone who encroaches on village Shamlat
land in Punjab. And not only will the encroacher face action, the
concerned officers of the Revenue and Consolidation Departments will
face action too. Punjab Financial Commissioner, Revenue N.S. Kang
submitted an affidavit to this effect to the Punjab and Haryana High
Court on Monday.
Responding
to recommendations of the Special Tribunal on Government and Shamlat
land, the Punjab government has submitted an affidavit to the Punjab
and Haryana High Court pledging strict action against officers of the
Revenue and Consolidation Departments who abet encroachment on
shamlat land. The affadavit also stated that there was no need to
conduct a CBI investigation. The recommendations are the outcome of
the yet to be completed land-grab inquiry conducted by retired
Supreme Court Justice Kuldeep Singh. The first installment of the
inquiry report was submitted to the High Court in March this year. In
it, Justice Kuldeep Singh affirmed that huge chunks of land in
periphery of Chandigarh in Punjab had either been already grabbed or
was being grabbed – mainly by highly influential persons including
senior government officers. He recommended a CBI probe among other
things.
The
Punjab government in its affidavit filed on Monday stated that
special officers with powers to deal with cases relating to illegal
occupation, acquisition and alienation of Shamlat and other
categories of land would be appointed in each district. Special
attorneys to deal with land dispute cases would also be appointed in
each district. The Punjab government also informed that all cases of
land related frauds, identified by special tribunal would be
reopened.
In
a hearing in March, the High Court bench directed the Punjab Revenue
Secretary to file a report as to whether or not two advocates who are
members of the Enquiry Tribunal were in fact attending the Tribunal
office. Justice Kuldeep Singh informed the government that it is not
possible to lay down any fixed procedure or routine for the functions
of members and chairman. He wrote: “Without going into arithmetic
of days, I say that tribunal is functioning satisfactory towards
accomplishing the work entrusted to it by High Court”. The
government accordingly informed the High Court in an affidavit
submitted on Monday.
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