After years of no action, two reports on land
grab by the “high and mighty” in the periphery of Chandigarh have been finally
dug out. It comes after the Punjab and Haryana High Court told the government,
“Our hands are not tied and we will go till the end of the matter.”
The report of Justice Kuldip Singh, a former
Supreme Court judge, had named several politicians, police officers and
bureaucrats who had grabbed panchayat (shamlat or common) land. The HC had
formed a special tribunal under Justice Kuldip but the SAD-BJP regime led by
Parkash Singh Badal government challenged it in the Supreme Court. The SC did
not stay the operation of the tribunal but, after submitting two interim
reports, Justice Kuldip expressed his inability to continue due to health issues.
His probe had highlighted land grab in villages such as Nada, Karoran and
Bartana in the periphery of Chandigarh to show how record mutations were done
in connivance with revenue and panchayat officers.
Now, a cabinet sub-committee formed to ensure
maintenance of government assets and lands — it is headed by local bodies
minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, and has rural development minister Tript Rajinder
Singh Bajwa and revenue minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria as members — has
entrusted a panel under Justice SS Saron (retd), who heads the Punjab Revenue
Commission, and former director general of police (DGP) Chandra Shekar, who
probed land grab by officers in the UT’s periphery, to find out and free
government land under illegal occupation.
While the tribunal was set up for all of
Punjab, Chander Shekar’s report was a vigilance probe into land deals in and
around Chandigarh.
“The HC has asked the Punjab government about
the follow-up action on the reports. I had submitted 12 reports after examining
revenue records. Nearly 25,000 acres were illegally occupied in Mohali district
alone,” Chandra Shekar said, adding, “Going by the average of Mohali, an
estimated five to six lakh acres of government land is under illegal occupation
throughout Punjab.”
Sidhu said the government would nail anyone
found guilty of land grab, “irrespective of clout”. He added, “The Badal
government swept everything under the carpet. Two cabinet sub-committees were
set up on the matter by the previous regime too, but no action was taken. There
was no audit of the land lease agreements too. In some cases, there are no
agreements. Land grabbed in Mohali alone exceeds the entire debt burden of
Punjab — nearly Rs 2 lakh crore.”
The cabinet sub-committee has asked all
departments and every board and corporation for details of land under
encroachment, under litigation and that which is not utilised. Mayors of all 10
municipal corporations and a representative each from the revenue, water
resources management, local government, rural development and panchayat, forest,
and public works (B&R) departments, and the state waqf board will be part
of the panel to be headed by Justice Saron.
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