Madras High Court unhappy with non-compliance of its orders to evict encroachments from waterbodies [01.08.2022]

The Madras High Court, on Monday, expressed its displeasure over non-compliance of a slew of directions issued by it to the Tamil Nadu government on January 27 to prevent unauthorised occupation of lands classified as water bodies in revenue records. The court warned that it would be constrained to summon the Chief Secretary if its orders were not implemented in letter and spirit within the next 10 days.

Miffed over a number of writ petitions continued to be filed regarding alleged encroachment of water bodies, the first Division Bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N. Mala wondered why the government had not implemented the January 27 order effectively. The court also imposed costs of Rs. 25,000 on one of the government officials for having failed to remove encroachments.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Bhandari and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu had, early this year, ordered demarcation of boundaries of all water bodies in the State in accordance with details available in Tamil Nilam website and ordered removal of all encroachments by issuing notices either under the Tamil Nadu Protection of Tanks and Eviction of Encroachment Act of 2007 or the Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act of 1905.

Then, the court directed the government to preserve those water bodies by desilting them at regular intervals, creating public awareness about the need to preserve them and arranging cleanliness drive for the surroundings with local participation, and preventing unauthorized occupation by fencing as well as installation of closed circuit television cameras for surveillance or by appointing security guards wherever possible.

The court had also ordered that no registering authority under the Registration Act of 1908 should register any document in respect of any land which had been notified as water body in the revenue records and that a declaration must be obtained from every applicant for registration of property or for approval of layout or building construction or assessment of property tax or electricity or water connection that the concerned property was not located on a water body.

Officials responsible for granting layout approval, building plan approval, assessment of property tax and electricity or water connection were also directed to conduct physical inspection of the site and also cross check the revenue records and confirm that the property in question was not located on a water body. They were further warned of disciplinary action if there were complaints of having granted approval to properties located on waterbodies.

Can't encourage encroachment on panchayat land: Punjab and Haryana High Court [05.05.2022]

Chandigarh, May 5

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that the courts cannot encourage illegal encroachment upon gram panchayat land by regularising its purchase. The assertion by the Bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Sandeep Moudgil came on a petition challenging order dated August 11, 2017, passed by Punjab Director, Rural Development and Panchayat-cum-Commissioner, upholding the order of eviction dated October 1, 2013, passed by Jalandhar District Development and Panchayat Officer-cum-Collector.

The matter was brought to their notice after Bir Pind gram panchayat in Nakodar sought eviction of the petitioner. Referring to the provisions of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Rules, his counsel contended a village resident could be given/sold land for residential purposes. Taking a note of the submissions, the Bench contended the very purpose for which the statutory provisions were incorporated under the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, and the rules framed there under, would be rendered redundant if the prayer was accepted.

Dismissing the petition, the Bench added the petitioner’s contention was that he belonged to the Scheduled Caste. The contention could not be accepted since he did not fall in the landless category and his counsel was unable to show any provision under the scheme.

Link to article: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/cant-encourage-encroachment-on-panchayat-land-punjab-and-haryana-high-court-392192

_____________________________________________________________________________________

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH 

CWP-23434-2017 

Date of Decision: April 27th, 2022 

Kewal Krishan                                                             ...Petitioner 

Versus 

State of Punjab and Others                                     ...Respondents  

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH 

                 HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP MOUDGIL 

Present: Mr. Vikram Singh, Advocate, for the petitioner.

Mr. S.P.S.Tinna, Addl. A.G. Punjab, for the State. 

Ms. Sonia G. Singh, Advocate, for respondent No. 4. 

AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH, J. 

(ORAL)

Petitioner has approached this Court impugning the order dated 11.08.2017 (Annexure P-5) passed by the Director, Rural Development and Panchayat-cum-Commissioner, Punjab-respondent No. 2 upholding the order of eviction dated 01.10.2013 (Annexure P-3) passed by the District Development and Panchayat Officer-cum-Collector, Jalandhar-respondent No. 3 preferred by the Gram Panchayat Bir Pind, Tehsil Nakodar, District Jalandhar-respondent No. 4 for ejectment of the petitioner being in illegal possession of the Gram Panchayat land.

On 12.10.2017, when the case came up for hearing before this 1 of 5 Court, the Court had issued notice on a statement made by the counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner is ready to pay the market price of the subject land where he has been found in illegal possession.

In pursuance to this notice issued by the Court, reply on behalf of respondents No. 1 to 3 by way of affidavit of District Development and Panchayat Officer, District Jalandhar dated 29.11.2019 has been filed. Similarly, reply on behalf of respondent No. 4-Gram Panchayat has also been filed by the authorized Panch of the Gram Panchayat, wherein the stand taken is that the petitioner is not covered by the Policy dated 14.08.2008 as the said Policy is with regard to the landless workers whereas the petitioner holds approximately 10 Marla of land, of which he is the owner. The relevant provisions of the Policy dated 14.08.2008 have been reproduced therein and under the said provisions, the case of the petitioner would not be covered. The said eligibility criteria reads as follows:-

"1. Who will be entitled under this scheme.

1) The beneficiary under this scheme must have constructed residential house over the Shamlat land of Gram Panchayat land in the concerned gram sabha area and is registered as voter in the gram sabha area.

2) The beneficiary belongs to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe including Bazigar community.

3) The beneficiary under this scheme must be married or un-married above the age of 45 years.

4) The beneficiary should be landless worker."

It has further been stated in the reply that this land, which is the subject matter of the present writ petition, is reserved for pond and in the light of the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Jagpal Singh and others vs. State of Punjab and others, 2011 (1) RCR (Civil), 912, the benefit, as has been claimed by the petitioner, cannot be granted to him. Reference has been made to para Nos. 22 and 23 of the said judgment, which reads as follows:-

"22. Before parting with this case we give directions to all the State Governments in the country that they should prepare scheme for eviction of illegal/unauthorized occupants of Gram Sabha/Gram Panchayat/Poramboke/Shamlat land and these must be restored to the Gram Sabha/Gram Panchayat for the common use of villagers of the village. For this purpose of the Chief Secretaries of all State Government/Union Territories in India are directed to do the needful, taking the help of other senior officers of the Governments. The said scheme should provide for the speedy eviction of such illegal occupant, after giving him a show cause notice and a brief hearing. Long duration of such illegal occupants or huge expenditure in making constructions thereon or political connections must not be treated as a justification for condoning this illegal act or for regularizing the illegal possession. Regularization should only be permitted in exceptional cases e.g. where lease has been granted under some Government notification to landless labourers or members of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes, or where there is already a school, dispensary or other public utility on the land.

23. Let a copy of this order be sent to all Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories in India who will ensure strict and prompt compliance of this order and submit compliance report to this Court from time to time."

Learned counsel for the petitioner asserts that the petitioner is claiming the benefit under Rule 10 and Rule 12 (4) of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Rules 1964. He contends that according to these rules, a resident of the village can be given/sold land for residential purposes. A perusal of these rules would show that the intent and purpose of selling the land by the Gram Panchayat is to help out the people who do not have any land. It is not intended to help the encroachers of the land of the Gram Panchayat. Otherwise the very purpose, for which the statutory provisions have been incorporated under The Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 and the rules framed thereunder, would be rendered redundant.

That apart, it may be pointed out that the Courts cannot be a party to encourage illegal encroachment upon the Gram Panchayat land by regularizing or accepting such prayer, as has been made in the present writ petition, for purchasing the land of the Gram Panchayat which they have encroached. The position would have been different assuming the case of the petitioner would have been covered by the Policy, as has been framed by the Government of Punjab for the landless labourers or the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.

Learned counsel for the petitioner states that the petitioner is a scheduled caste but since he does not fall in the landless category, this contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner cannot be accepted in the 4 of 5 light of the fact that the counsel has not been able to show any provision under the scheme which would entitle the petitioner to the benefit, as has been claimed by him.

The present writ petition being devoid of any merit, therefore, stands dismissed.

                (AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH)                              (SANDEEP MOUDGIL) 

                                    JUDGE                                                                   JUDGE 

April 27th, 2022

NGT asks Noida authorities to report on encroachment of wetlands [09.04.2022]

The bench, headed by justice Sudhir Agarwal and justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, gave the order while hearing a petition filed by a resident regarding the lack of protection for wetlands in the city that can help revive groundwater levelsThe green court also asked the committee to explain what is being done to conserve the water bodies in Noida. (HT Archive)

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday formed a joint committee comprising officials from the Central Pollution Control Board, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), the Uttar Pradesh State Wetlands Authority and the district magistrate and asked them to file a report within two months on the encroachment of 117 water bodies and wetlands in Noida.

The green court also asked the committee to explain what is being done to conserve the water bodies in Noida.

The bench, headed by justice Sudhir Agarwal and justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, gave the order while hearing a petition filed by a resident regarding the lack of protection for wetlands in the city that can help revive groundwater levels. The petition also highlighted 117 water bodies that should be urgently protected in the district.

According to records, Gautam Budh Nagar is among 255 water-stressed districts in India.

“We have got to know that about 1,000 ponds with an area of 4.5 sq km (448,418 hectares) are being profiled by the district administration. However, the worst part is that the protectors of these natural resources are themselves encroaching upon the water bodies. A 1,140 sqm pond in Dadri was used to build the municipality office, as mentioned in the revenue records. Similarly, there is no care for any water body in Noida. If preserved, these can be natural aquifers to recharge groundwater across Noida,” said Abhisht Gupta, the appellant.

According to the case details, of the 1,000 ponds being profiled in Gautam Budh Nagar, 474 ponds are in Dadri, 281 in Jewar, and 245 in Sadar (which covers part of Greater Noida, Noida, Dankaur and Bisrakh).

The petition said, “At present, the groundwater in the district is being over-exploited or is [at critical levels]. This is an immense strain on the limited water sources. In this regard, instead of protecting, managing and conserving the existing water bodies, along with appropriate efforts to setup new water bodies, the respondents have ignored the rampant encroachments and systematic destruction of the wetlands and water bodies.”

The petition added that the appellant had earlier also asked the UPPCB to look into the matter but there was no serious action by the respondents to conserve the water bodies. Later, a case was filed in the Allahabad high court as well, but the team was redirected to the NGT.

The NGT bench has set July 4 as the next date of hearing.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/noida-news/ngt-asks-noida-authorities-to-report-on-encroachment-of-wetlands-101649446925333.html

T.N. Government restructures panels for monitoring encroachments [10.01.2022]

Various committees that were constituted in the past would now be superseded by the three-level panel.

The Tamil Nadu Government on Tuesday constituted a State-level steering committee, and district-level and divisional-level monitoring committees for effective reporting and monitoring of development activities for identifying and evicting encroachments in waterbodies and other government lands. The three-level panels would supersede all existing committees, constituted at various points in time.

Hitherto, several committees in taluk-level, divisional, district and State-level were in place to protect government lands from encroachments in compliance with the orders of the courts that monitor the action taken for eviction of such encroachments. “A single point reporting or monitoring system is necessary at each level for effective initiatives towards protection,” a G.O. issued in this regard said.

The Chief Secretary is the ex-officio chairperson of the State-level steering committee. Ex-officio members in the panel are Secretaries of Revenue & Disaster Management, Municipal Administration and Water Supply, Water Resources, Highways & Minor Ports, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Home, Prohibition and Excise and Housing and Urban Development Departments, Director-General of Police.

Director of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation, Director of Municipal Administration, Engineer-in-Chief of the Water Resources Department, Director-General-Highways, Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board, Director of Survey and Settlement are the other members of the panel. Commissioner of Land Administration would be the convenor of the State-level committee.

The State-level committee shall monitor and review the overall progress in the eviction of encroachments and compliance of court orders with respect to waterbodies and other highly objectionable porambokes. The committee would convene once a month and issues would be taken up for discussion along with the All Secretaries’ Meeting. Collectors and the Revenue Divisional Officers would be the chairperson of the district-level and division-level committees. “In the meantime, Taluk Tahsildar and other field officers of the line departments concerned (like WRD, Highways etc), should initiate eviction process after identifying encroachments in objectionable government lands. The relevant Acts and the processes prescribed under these Acts should be followed while evicting ,” it said. At least on five instances, committees were constituted in the past, over identifying and evicting encroachments in waterbodies and other government lands. Three redressal committees –Taluk Committee, Divisional-level Appellate Committee and District-level review committee were constituted in line with the orders of the Madras High Court in 2014. In the light of the observations made by Madras High Court of Madras, a G.O. was amended to include officials of Water Resources and PWD. In 2021, the Collectors were instructed to formulate a local team with concerned Assistant Engineer/Assistant Executive Engineer, Village Administrative Officer (VAO), Panchayat President, local NGOs and SHG members. The three-level committee constituted on February 8 would supersede all these committees.

Eviction of illegal occupants from panchayati land remains a challenge in Haryana [01.02.2022]

Facing a challenge to evict squatter from thousands of acres of panchayati and shamlat land in almost all districts of Haryana, the state government is now exploring the possibility of permitting continuance of the occupation of gram panchayati land to people who are in unauthorised possession of the land. 

With panchayat polls due in state, the development assumes significance as the move may help the ruling BJP-JJP alliance to appease rural voters. Even as the officials of the panchayats and development department are not ready to talk over the issue but the matter came to light as the state government has filed a reply with the Punjab and Haryana high court that a policy is being framed for exploring the possibility of permitting continuance of the occupation of the panchayati land by the persons who are in unauthorised or illegal possession.

“There are large number of encroachments that have been effected where construction has been done and old structures are existing. The state, therefore wants six weeks’ time to finalise the said policy and till a decision is taken in this regard, the petitioners will not be disposed,” mentions the January 19 order of the Punjab and Haryana high court in a case related to illegal encroachment on panchayati land for which March 16 has been fixed as the next date of hearing.

As per the report filed by the state government with the court in a case of Dharambir Sharma versus State of Haryana and others, total 11,669 eviction petitions involving 9,855 acre are pending with the assistant collector first grade by December 2018. But by filing of the affidavit in September, 2019, possession of land measuring 835 acre have been delivered to the gram panchayats concerned, the government claimed.

In 3,583 cases, around 3,728 acre panchayati and shamlat land, including residential plots, were occupied despite eviction orders being issued. Maximum 558 acre panchayati and shamlat land were occupied illegally in Hisar district, followed by 543 acre in Panchkula, 500 acre in Yamunanagar, 365 acre in Ambala, 303 acre in Kurukshetra, and 295 acre in Jhajjar after the eviction orders were passed, till September 2019.

The government said the possession of 2,069 acre land has been delivered to gram panchayats from 2015 to 2019 in 1,003 cases.

Later in January 2021, in the same case, the state government told the HC that from October to December 2020, in 205 cases, possession of land measuring 300 acre has been delivered to the gram panchayats concerned and criminal proceedings in 40 cases have been initiated against people who were found in unauthorised occupation of the panchayati land.

Ramesh Chander Bidhan, director general, development and panchayats, Haryana denied having any information regarding formation of the policy to give possession of panchayati land to illegal occupants saying, “I am not aware about any such policy being framed as I am on election duty in Uttar Pradesh.”

On delay in eviction of illegal occupants from panchayati lands, he said eviction of illegal occupants is an ongoing process and in some cases, it got delayed as the eviction is carried out only after the court orders. The possession is taken after eviction orders are passed but the process of execution starts only after the eviction orders are issued.

Link: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/eviction-of-illegal-occupants-from-panchayati-land-remains-a-challenge-in-haryana-101643658634713.html

Madras High Court: Face contempt action if STF for eviction is not formed

It had ordered constitution of a force headed by an Additional Chief Secretary in April 2019

CHENNAI, JANUARY 01, 2022 00:55 IST

The Madras High Court has warned Tamil Nadu government of contempt of court proceedings if it had not complied with an April 2019 directive to constitute a Special Task Force, headed by an officer in the rank of Additional Chief Secretary, for conducting periodical inspections, field survey and removal of encroachments from government lands.

A Division Bench of Justices S. Vaidyanathan and A.A. Nakkiran recalled that another Bench led by Justice M. Venugopal (since retired) had on April 29, 2019 ordered that the STF should be constituted permanently and that it should be headed by an “efficient, devoted and honest” official who could crack down on large scale encroachments.

“It is not known as to whether such a force has been constituted for the said purpose,” the Bench led by Justice Vaidyanathan said and warned that the court would pass stringent orders if any wilful and deliberate disobedience was noticed. It also made it clear that the court would not hesitate to order imprisonment of the officials concerned for their lapses.

The warning was issued while disposing of a writ petition on an alleged illegal construction at Marshalls Road in Egmore. Passing orders, the Bench recalled the 2019 order which had not only conceived the constitution of a permanent STF, similar to the one in Karnataka, but also listed out its probable functions.

Then, the court had ordered that the Revenue Secretary, Highways Secretary, Public Works Department Secretary, Commissioner of Land Administration, Commissioner of Survey, Tangedco chairperson and a host of others should be the members of the STF. The goverment was directed to issue executive instructions constituting the force within three months.

On such constitution, the chairman of the STF was ordered to convene monthly meetings with its members to review the progress made in removal of encroachments. After eviction, the government was directed to install boards with Quick Response (QR) codes so that any person could access details about the land and prevent encroachments in future.

The STF was also directed to strictly follow the ‘Guidelines on Urban Drainage’ issued by the Indian Roads Congress. It was also made mandatory for the STF to report progress every month to the Chief Secretary who, in turn, was ordered to forward the reports to the Registrar General of the High Court.

Further, the court had ordered that the STF should be assigned a separate helpline number for receiving complaints regarding encroachment of government lands.

Link: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/face-contempt-action-if-stf-for-eviction-is-not-formed-hc/article38083757.ece

News Clipping: Over 60,000 acres of encroached land retrieved in J&K

Target achievement yet miles away; 60,000 Acres retrieved against 2.5 Lakh Acres under encroachment

By Northlines -January 13, 2022

Jammu Tawi, Jan 12: The original plan of the Jammu Kashmir Administration to retrieve at least one lakh hectares of encroached state land and village common land (Shamlaat and Kahcharai) is still miles away keeping the figure of total retrieved state land so far. About 65% of this land falls in the Jammu division of the erstwhile Jammu Kashmir state, according to the shared information of the revenue department records. Many in the government believe such widespread and long-term encroachment could not have been possible without endemic corruption among revenue staff at the local level.

The J&K Administration today stated that over 60,000 acres of encroached land has been retrieved in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday.

Over 60,000 acres of encroached land has been retrieved in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday.

R R Bhatnagar, Advisor to the Lt Governor, directed for creation of a dashboard for continuous monitoring of the removal of encroachments in the Union Territory.

Bhatnagar also asked the revenue department to red flag any instance of new encroachment or re-encroachment by fixing responsibility down the line showing no laxity in taking action against the responsible.

The Advisor made the remarks while assessing the performance of the revenue department at a meeting here which among others was attended by Commissioner Secretary, Revenue, Custodian General, Inspector General Registrations, Jammu and other officers of the department. Divisional Commissioners participated through video conferencing, an official spokesman said.

He said the meeting was informed that 3,71,901.1 kanals (46,487.6 acres) of state land, 1,10,515.8 kanals (13,814.4 acres) of ‘Kacharai’ (grazing land) and 1314.11 kanal (164.2 acres) of common land has been retrieved from encroachers till date.

Bhatnagar directed the Revenue department to create a dashboard for continuous and effective monitoring of removal of encroachments on government land.

He asked the officers to devise a mechanism under which no retrieved patch of land is re-encroached and also advised them to prioritize the commercial chunks of land to be retrieved first followed by others.

The Advisor also enquired about the process of digitization of land records, expunging of illegal entries, reconstructing the missing records afresh and progress of revenue courts, the spokesman said.

Bhatnagar called for a comprehensive report on all the cases pending in the courts besides the timeline showing progress registered, so far.

The spokesman said the meeting was informed that digitization of land records for Srinagar and Jammu is in its final stage and slated to be completed in February.

The work on updation of ‘Jamabandis’ in remaining districts is going to be completed in this month followed by digitization of the same immediately in a decentralized manner, he said.

Regarding the settlement and digital survey of all 6,850 revenue villages, the spokesman said the draft survey manual has been prepared and the project management module is also under process.

The meeting also dealt in detail with the proposed roadmap for online services to get revenue extracts besides integration of mutation and registration system for real-time updation of revenue records without any extra encumbrance, he said.

With addition of about 127 slots a week in favour of each sub-registrar, the process of registration of properties has become quick and easy, the spokesman said.

He said around 60 percent increase in registration of properties through these offices has been made this year as compared to the previous year.

The registrations in 2021 were calculated at 65,626 in contrast to only 39,039 registrations made in 2020, the spokesman said.

Link: https://www.thenorthlines.com/over-60000-acres-of-encroached-land-retrieved-in-jk/

News: Common land proprietorship remains with owner, rules Punjab and Haryana High Court [09.06.2021]

Says Sector 42A doesn’t take away title

Chandigarh, June 8

In a significant judgment on land laws, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that the title of a landowner in the land reserved for common purposes or the ‘Jumla Mushtarka Malkan’ land was still with the property owner, even after insertion of Section 42A in the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act.

Justice Anil Kshetarpal ruled Section 42A on “prohibition to partition the land reserved for common purposes” did not take away the title of the proprietor in the land reserved for common purposes at the time of consolidation. However, the control and management of such land would continue to vest in the gram panchayat or the state government till it was used, or was capable of being used, for village common purposes.

The ruling by Justice Kshetarpal came on a petition filed against the state of Punjab and other respondents by Labh Singh and other petitioners. Going into the technical aspects of the matter, Justice Kshetarpal asserted Rule 16 (ii) of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Rules provided that the proprietary rights of land reserved for village common purposes, by imposing pro-rata cut on landholding of the owners at the time of consolidation, would continue to vest in the proprietary body of the estate or estates concerned.

Justice Kshetarpal added a five-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court held in 1965 that the land so carved out by imposing a pro-rata cut for common use of the villagers would not result in divesting the ownership of the proprietors or proprietary body. Subsequently, another five-Judge Bench again held that the proprietors would continue to be the owner and there was no divesting of the title. Another Bench also held that the ownership of Jumla Mushtarka Malkan land did not vest in the gram panchayat.

But the state counsel insisted that the proprietary body stood divested of the title of the ‘Jumla Mushtarka Malkan’ land in view of Section 42A. Justice Kshetarpal asserted the Act did not provide for acquisition, divesting, confiscation, seizure, impounding, appropriation or annexation of the proprietary rights. “If the argument of state’s counsel is accepted, the provision most likely would be rendered unconstitutional,” he said.

Opinion: Haryana Govt. creating a picture of alarm on scale of demolition on forest land [26.11.2021]

Environmentalist Lt. Col. (retd.) S.S. Oberoi has argued that the Haryana Government made a “deliberate mistake” in the calculation of forest area to ‘create a picture of alarm’ and justify the amendments to the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900.

He has countered the claims of the Government before the Supreme Court recently that its orders in Kant Enclave and Khori Village case would necessitate demolition in around 40% of the State.

Mr. Oberoi, in his affidavit filed earlier this month, said that 40% of the State was notified under Section 3 of the PLPA for enabling protection from erosion and for conservation of subsoil water and did not mean that it was a ‘forest area’. Accusing the State of major and deliberate misrepresentation, he said that there is no regulation, restriction or prohibition placed by mere identification of areas under Section 3. He also clarified that a general Section 4 notification in no way converted areas as forests and the department had never identified these areas as forests in their records.

“The recorded forest areas identified by Haryana are those closed by notification under Section 4 and 5 by special orders. For the State as a whole, 31,738 hectare is closed under this and being treated as forest by the State Forest Department. It is less than 1% and in fact a mere 0.72% of the total area of the State. This is a far cry from the almost 40% figure given in the additional affidavit of the Government,” said Mr. Oberoi, in his affidavit, filed through his counsel Amiy Shukla

‘Land scam’

The affidavit said the lands closed under Section 4/5 of the PLPA in Faridabad and Gurugram district were all common lands in the Aravalis with ownership historically recorded as shamlat lands in the revenue records. “However, these common lands in villages like Ankhir, Mewla Maharajpur, Anangpur, Mangar and Kot, in Faridabad have been dubiously privatised and partitioned in what is perhaps the biggest land scam in the history of the State of Haryana so far,” the affidavit read.

In an additional affidavit last month, the Haryana Government had said that in terms of the Kant Enclave Judgment in 2019 and an order passed on July 23, 2021 in Khori Village case by the Supreme Court, areas notified under Section 3, 4 and 5 of the PLPA were required to be considered as forest and accordingly about 39.35% of the geographical area of the State was forest and every structure constructed on it required to be demolished.

The environmentalists have been protesting against the PLPA Amendment Bill, 2019, which has also been signed by the Haryana Governor, as ‘death knell’ for forests expressing fears that 60,000 acre of PLPA protected Aravali forests and 10,000 acre of Shivalik forests near Chandigarh would be opened for real estate development if the law is enacted.

Link: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/haryana-govt-creating-a-picture-of-alarm-on-scale-of-demolition-on-forest-land/article37694378.ece

News: Madras High Court To Issue Directions For Removal Of Encroachment On Water Bodies Across State [16.12.2021]

The Madras High Court has reserved its judgment on a batch of petitions challenging illegal encroachment of water bodies across the state of Tamil Nadu.

The bench of Acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice PD Audikesavalu has expressed its inclination to issue directions on the common grievance of water body encroachments.

The obligation of the state and its officers is simple. They will have to maintain the water bodies, free from encroachments. The case on wetlands will be heard separately. The directions that we will issue will be applicable not only to the water bodies that form the subject matter of petitions before the court, but all the water bodies across the state", the Court said.

It added,

"This order must be strictly complied with by the state government. We will fix a time frame to remove the encroachments and if that's not done, the responsible officers will be called to the court. The responsibility is fixed on the concerned officers to maintain, protect and repair the waterbodies in this list."

The court also warned that any inaction will be met with disciplinary action against the officials.

It further reminded the authorities that if the water does not accumulate in the waterbodies due to encroachment, floods will follow. The common order will be beneficial to all, and thereafter, if any issue persist, it will be taken separately.

Issues like reclassification of water bodies have been separated from the list and will be taken up separately on different days.

"Regarding the main issue of encroachment of waterbodies in the public interest litigation, arguments have been heard. Judgment reserved", the court accordingly noted in the order.

Yesterday, the court had dispensed with the personal appearance of Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu upon the intimation that the list of water bodies has been published in Tamil Nilam Website detailing their survey numbers, location and area.

Today however, some of the petitioners expressed a concern that the website was not fully functional and that the survey numbers of water bodies must be previously known for getting access to the rest of the details on the website.

Thereafter, the details of all water bodies existing in the State was handed over to the bench in a Compact Disc (CD) by the Chief Secretary.

Back in January 2019, the High Court had taken its first step in dealing with illegal encroachments. It had directed the then Chief Secretary and District Collectors to tackle water body encroachment and file an Action Taken Report explaining the progress made in implementing recommendations for rectifying the shortcomings of encroachment eviction. Further, Collectors of respective Districts were asked to prepare a list of lands identified as water bodies in their revenue records and file an action taken report.

Case Title: Suo-Moto PIL & Connected Matters

Case No: WP/12653/2017 (PIL)

Link: https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/madras-high-court-will-issue-directions-for-removal-of-encroachments-in-waterbodies-judgment-reserved-187837

Supreme Court of India on Encroachments: "All Major Cities Have Turned Into Slums" [16.12.2021]

The Supreme Court said, "Railways cannot be let off the hook of their responsibility. It is not just the state government's responsibility... The time has come for the corporations to take the responsibility of removing the encroachment".

The Indian Railways has to take responsibility for encroachments on its land and take strict action against them, the Supreme Court said today, refusing to allow 5000 hutments to continue in Gujarat."All major cities have turned into slums... This is a sad story going on for 75 years and we are celebrating the 75th year of Independence next year," said a three-judge bench, turning down an appeal from the slum dwellers to stop the demolition.

"Look at any city, Chandigarh might be an exception but there are problems in Chandigarh as well. That is happening everywhere. Let us rise to reality and think how the problem has to be resolved," said Justice AM Khanwilkar, who was on the bench along with Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and CT Ravikumar.

Directing the Railways to initiate criminal action against unauthorised occupants immediately, the court said, "Railways cannot be let off the hook of their responsibility. It is not just the state government's responsibility... The time has come for the corporations to take the responsibility of removing the encroachment". The court said it would also review the action taken.

The Railways have also been asked to take action against officials who have allowed the encroachments to take place.

"Performance will be apprised by us and not your hirers. Your liability is an equal liability along with the state and corporation. The owner who is incapable of protecting the property should be liable along with the State and Corporation," Justice Khanwilkar told Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, who was representing the Railways.

The order cleared the path for demolition of a huge swathe of hutments in Gujarat's Surat, that have come up on Railway land. The demolition will lead to the eviction of 10,000 people.

The court has asked the Gujarat government and the Railways to jointly provide a compensation of ₹ 2,000 per month for 6 months for each demolished hut. The money is for the people to manage accommodation till they are rehabilitated.

"The slum dwellers will be eligible for PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana) accommodation if applications are made and eligibility is fulfilled," the court said.

The court had earlier stayed the demolition of the hutments, built along the railway track and issued notices to Centre, Western Railways and the state government.

In their appeal, the Surat-based 'Utran se Besthan Railway Jhopadpatti Vikas Mandal', said the slum dwellers will face irreparable injury if they are not provided with alternate arrangement. Once they are evicted and made homeless, their condition would become more miserable, especially in view of the pandemic, the petition had said.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves who appeared for the petitioners, said the people were living on Railway land for more than 60 years and most of them have proof of residence with them.

The Western Railways, he said, had planned a 10 km third railway line between Surat and Jalgaon and ordered the people to vacate the land without any notice or rehabilitation.

Link: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/all-major-cities-have-turned-into-slums-supreme-court-on-encroachments-2655377

_______________________________________________________________________

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA 

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CIVIL) Diary No(s). 19714/2021 

(Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 19-08-2021 in WPPIL No. 222/2014 passed by the High Court Of Gujarat At Ahmedabad) 

UTRAN SE BESTHAN RAILWAY JHOPADPATTI VIKAS MANDAL                      Petitioner(s) 

VERSUS 

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA & ORS.                                                                          Respondent(s) 

WITH Diary No(s). 23559/2021 

Date : 16-12-2021 

These petitions were called on for hearing today. 

CORAM : 

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE A.M. KHANWILKAR 

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DINESH MAHESHWARI 

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE C.T. RAVIKUMAR 

For Petitioner(s)    Mr. Colin Gonsalves, Sr. Adv. 

Ms. Kawalpreet Kaur, Adv. 

Ms. Hetvi Patel, Adv. 

Mr. Haider Ali, Adv. 

Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR

Ms. Amiy Shukla, AOR 

For Respondent(s) Mr. Tushar Mehta, SG 

MR. K. M. Nataraj, ASG 

Mr. Kanu Agarwal, Adv 

Mr. Akshay Amritanshu, Adv 

Mr. Sanskriti Pathak, Adv 

Mr. Varun Chaugh, Adv 

Mr. Amrish Kumar, AOR 

Mr. K M Nataraj, Ld ASG. 

Mr. Vatsal joshi, Adv. 

Mr. Vikas Bansal, Adv. 

Mr. S.K Singhania, Adv. 

Mr. Sughosh Subramanyam, Adv. 

Mr. Amrish Kumar, AOR 

Mr. Arun Bhardwaj, Sr. Adv. 

Mr. Rahul Kumar Sharma, Adv.  

 Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, AOR 

Mr. Munawwar Naseem, AOR 

Mr. Dhaval Nanavati, 

Mrs. Ruchi Khurana 

Ms. Sanjna Dua, Advocates 

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following 

O R D E R 

Diary No(s). 19714/2021 

This special leave petition takes exception to the judgment and order dated 19.08.2021 in Writ Petition (PIL) No. 222 of 2014 whereby the cause espoused by the petitioners in the public interest litigation, of the occupants of the structures occupied by the concerned persons on Railway property came to be rejected by the High Court. 

The fact that the structures are standing on the Railway property is not disputed at all. Their plea is only to provide suitable rehabilitation in lieu of the premises occupied by the concerned persons on the Railway property. 

The respondent-Western Railways, at the outset asserts that it has not formulated any scheme much less for rehabilitation of persons who have encroached upon the Railway property. In fact, it is an offence to encroach upon any Railway property. Further, they want to execute a public project of linking of railway line between Surat-Udhna upto Jalgaon (Third Railway Line Project). That project is being obstructed by unauthorised structures on the Railway property. The project, though sanctioned in the year 2018, is still incomplete because of the standing structures on the Railway property to the extent of 2.65 kilometers length. The total length of project is 10 kilometers and requiring a width of 25 meters all along. 

As regards the operative order passed by the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad, rejecting the public interest litigation, we do not wish to deviate from that conclusion. However, the question is about rehabilitation of the occupants of the concerned structures, which are likely to be removed due to the proposed action of demolition by Western Railways. 

According to Western Railways, the primary responsibility to ensure that no encroachment takes place on any property is that of the local Government and also of the State Government, in equal measure.

Although, the submission seems to be attractive at the first blush, does not commend to us. For, there is a special enactment which enables the Railway authorities to protect its property. That is its statutory and public trust obligation. It was open to the concerned Authority to invoke the provisions of special enactment including the Public Premises Act. For that, the Estate Officers should have moved into action in right earnest at the earliest opportunity. Even that option is not being invoked for reasons best known to the Authorities. Besides, the Railway establishment maintains a Railway police force whose services could be utilized to safeguard the Railways property, wherever it is situated. 

As a result, the nuanced distinction made by the learned counsel for Western Railways does not commend to us. We hold that the Railways are equally responsible for the situation; and for which reason, it is also equally liable to provide some support to the persons likely to be affected by the removal of their structures. 

Hence, keeping in mind the dictum of this Court in Ahemadabad Municipal Corporation Vs. Nawab Khan Gulab Khan reported in (1997) 11 SCC 121, on that analogy, we propose to issue following directions: 

(i) The respondent – Western Railways do immediately issue notices to the occupants of the concerned structures which are falling within the belt which is required immediately for commencing the remaining project work by giving two weeks' time to the concerned occupant(s) to vacate the respective premises; 

(ii) In respect of the remaining land owned by Railways, even though it may not be immediately required for the project, similar notice be given to the occupants of structures standing thereon by giving six weeks’ time to vacate the respective premises; 

(iii) In either case (i) and (ii) above, the notices be issued within one week from today and if the occupants fail to vacate the unauthorized structure, it will be open to the respondent-Western Railways to initiate appropriate action to forcibly dispossess them and to demolish or remove the unauthorized structure(s) by taking assistance of the local police force. The Superintendent/Commissioner of Police of the concerned area shall ensure that adequate police force is deployed on the site and surrounding areas including to provide protection to the officials/staff engaged in the demolition of unauthorized structures and to facilitate them to commence the eviction process and demolition of the unauthorized structures, referred to in the eviction notices on the specified date and time; 

(iv) Before commencing the process of eviction and removal of the structures, the Collector of the concerned District must ensure that necessary details about the names and number of persons occupying the concerned structure, including their identity and profile should be duly recorded, which record should be preserved by the Collector for considering the eligibility of those persons for being provided suitable residential accommodation after being evicted owning to proposed demolition action; 

(v) The entity, who is the owner of the land, namely, Western Railways in this case as well as the local Government and the State Government shall be jointly and severally liable to pay a sum of Rs. 2,000/- per month per demolished structure for a period of six months from the date of demolition of their structure as ex-gratia amount to the head of the family/occupants unauthorized structure of the removed concerned during demolition action. That amount shall be initially paid by the Collector for a period of six months “only” (not beyond six months each) and shall be later on shared equally by the entity (owner of the land), local Government and State Government; 

(vi) In the event, the local Government has any rehabilitation scheme, the affected persons may apply for being rehabilitated under the said scheme, if eligible and subject to verification of eligibility and complying with all other terms and conditions of the prevalent scheme. The local Government may provide them suitable residential accommodation in lieu of rehabilitation owing to demolition of their structure. 

(vii) If no rehabilitation scheme has been formulated by the local Government or is in force, the persons likely to be affected by the action of demolition can apply for allocation of residential premises under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna Scheme, which application be processed not later than six months from the date of its receipt and taken to its logical end, application-wise within such period. 

(viii) Be it a case of rehabilitation under clause (vi) or (vii) above, the persons affected by demolition action by the Authorities cannot insist for allotment of alternative residential accommodation at the same place from where they have been evicted (as it is not in situ rehabilitation programme). The eligible persons be allotted accommodation wherever available in the same or even in neighbouring districts. 

(ix) In addition, since the Railways have power to initiate civil/criminal action against the unauthorized occupants on the Railway property, must resort to those proceedings against the concerned persons immediately after it is brought to the notice to the concerned official of the Railways. Further, the Railways being the owner of the property, as also the local Government and State Government must initiate appropriate action against the erring persons, including the officials of the concerned establishment for allowing and tolerating such encroachment and for not taking corrective action of removal of encroachments in right earnest and at the earliest opportunity. 

(x) The status report of the action taken by the Railway Board as also by the local Government and State Government be furnished to this Court before the next date. 

List this matter on 28.01.2022. 

In the meantime, learned counsel for the petitioner to cure the defects as pointed by the Registry. 

Diary No(s). 23559/2021 

The order passed in Diary No(s). 19714/2021 will operate even in this special leave petition, only qua the ten structures of the concerned petitioners herein. 

Mr. Colin Gonsalves, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner points out that one more petition has been filed by the affected persons before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana being Writ Petition No.19647 of 2021, involving similar issues. The same is withdrawn and shall stand transferred to this Court in terms of this order. 

List the transferred case and this petition along with Diary No. 19714 of 2021 on 28.01.2022. 

In the meantime, learned counsel for the petitioner to cure the defects as pointed by the Registry. 

News: Roshni Act: Govt begins retrieval of land in J&K [28.11.2021]

Officials informed that the highest number of Roshni land has been retrieved in Ramban district of Jammu division so far.

“As per the preliminary reports submitted by the District Magistrates over 2000 acres of land granted under Roshni Act has been retrieved since the exercise began last week.” 

MUKEET AKMALI

Published on: 28 Nov, 2021, 7:30 pm

Srinagar: A year after the High Court struck down the Roshni Act, the Jammu and Kashmir government has now begun an exercise to retrieve the land granted under this Act to beneficiaries.

On November 1, 2020, the Union Territory administration cancelled all land transfers that took place under the JK State Land (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001 – also known as the Roshni Act – under which 2.5 lakh acres of land was to be transferred to the existing occupants.

A senior revenue department official informed that after publishing the list of beneficiaries, the district administrations have been asked to retrieve the land.

“As per the preliminary reports submitted by the District Magistrates over 2000 acres of land granted under Roshni Act has been retrieved since the exercise began last week.”

Officials informed that the highest number of Roshni land has been retrieved in Ramban district of Jammu division so far.

Authorities in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir have retrieved over 1,537.4 acres of state land and those given under the Roshni Act during an anti-encroachment drive, an official spokesman had said on Saturday.

The drive was conducted across Ramban from November 15 on the directions of Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mussarat Islam, the spokesman said.

Providing a break-up, the Revenue department said 283 Kanals of encroached land were retrieved in Ramsoo tehsil, 3,353 Kanals in Gool, 477 Kanals in Rajgarh, 922 Kanals in Banihal, 496 Kanals in Batote, 1,113 Kanals in Khari, 1,923 Kanals in Ukhral and 3742 Kanals in Ramban tehsil.

In the Shopian district of Kashmir division, the district administration demolished private buildings, shops and retrieval of land given under the Roshni Act, which was struck down by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

“First drive against Roshni beneficiaries was carried out in Awneera Halqa of Zainapora and 15 kanals of land were retrieved during the drive, and the action is in full swing in the district.”

“A village-wise list of encroached land has been made and the eviction process will be carried out in phases in the coming days,” officials informed.

Shopian District Magistrate Sachin Kumar Vaishya said the high court's directions would be implemented in letter and spirit to retrieve the encroached land along with the state land allotted under the Roshni Act, 2007.

In Doda district, teams from the revenue department recovered over 98 acres of state and Roshni land in the last two days, official had said

The encroached lands were retrieved in Kondhra, Mundhar, Mothi, Gadi, Bhella and Chiralla villages, the officials said.

In Reasi district, the revenue officials conducted anti-encroachment drives in Arnas and Thuroo tehsils and recovered nearly 85 acres of land, they said.

The Roshni Act was enacted in 2001 with the twin objective of generating resources for financing power projects and conferment of proprietary rights to the occupants of state land.

The High Court had declared the Act “unconstitutional” and asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to take up the case.

The revenue department was asked to work out a plan to retrieve large tracts of state land vested under the Act. According to the high court order, a total of 6,04,602 kanals (75,575 acres) of state land had been regularised and transferred to the occupants. This included 5,71,210 kanals (71,401 acres) in Jammu and 33,392 kanals (4174 acres) in the Kashmir province.

According to the order, complete identities of influential persons, including ministers, legislators, bureaucrats, government officials, police officers and businessmen, their relatives or persons holding benami for them, who have derived benefit under the Roshni Act, will be made public within a period of one month.

The scheme was finally repealed by the then governor Satya Pal Malik on November 28, 2018.

Amid reports about its widespread misuse, the entire legislation was challenged before the high court which stayed the proceedings under the Act and also directed that neither the occupants having been conferred upon the ownership rights shall sell these lands nor can raise constructions on such lands.

In 2014, the Comptroller and Auditor General had estimated that only Rs 76 crore had been raised from the transfer of encroached land between 2007 and 2013, against the target of Rs 25,000 crore.

News: नदी-तालाब, गोचर, सार्वजनिक भूमि का नियमन नहीं [10.12.2021]

 -राज्य सरकार ने हाईकोर्ट में पक्ष रखा

जोधपुर। राज्य सरकार ने गुरुवार को राजस्थान हाईकोर्ट में कहा कि प्रशासन शहरों के संग अभियान के दौरान सार्वजनिक भूमि, नदी-तालाब, गोचर तथा प्रतिबंधित श्रेणी की भूमि पर किसी तरह का नियमन नहीं किया जाएगा। याचिका की सुनवाई शुक्रवार को भी जारी रहेगी।

मुख्य न्यायाधीश अकील कुरैशी तथा न्यायाधीश सुदेश बंसल की खंडपीठ में याचिकाकर्ता भंवरसिंह की ओर से दायर जनहित याचिका की सुनवाई के दौरान सरकार की ओर से हरिन पी रावल ने कहा कि मास्टर प्लान की भावना के विपरीत किसी तरह का नियमन नहीं किया जाएगा। उन्होंने कहा कि सरकार को कृषि भूमि के अकृषि प्रयोजनार्थ भू-रूपांतरण के अधिकार है। भू-राजस्व अधिनियम की धारा 90-क के तहत भू-रूपांतरण करने के दौरान भी मास्टर प्लान में अनुज्ञेय भू-उपयोग के अनुरूप ही कार्यवाही की जाती है। याचिका में राज्य सरकार के 28 सितंबर तथा इसके साथ-साथ जारी अन्य आदेशों को चुनौती दी गई है, जो कथित तौर पर अनियमित निर्माणों को नियमित करने को लेकर है।

गौरतलब है कि एक अन्य याचिका में कोर्ट ने 6 अक्टूबर को विस्तृत अंतरिम निर्देश दिए हैं, जिसमें प्रदेश के किसी भी शहर और कस्बे में मास्टर डवलपमेंट प्लान के तहत अधिसूचित जोनल डवलपमेंट प्लान और सेक्टर प्लान के विपरीत राज्य सरकार की ओर से सार्वजनिक भूमि, कृषि भूमि या अन्य तरह की भूमि पर अवैध निर्माण या कब्जे के नियमन पर रोक लगाई गई थी। कोर्ट ने यह भी कहा था कि जिन कस्बों और शहरों के जोनल डवलपमेंट प्लान तथा सेक्टर प्लान विधिवत अनुमोदित नहीं है, वहां किसी तरह के व्यक्तिगत निर्माण या अनाधिकृत रूप से विकसित कॉलोनी के नियमितिकरण के लिए प्रक्रिया शुरू नहीं की जाए। कोर्ट ने सरकार को यह सुनिश्चित करने को भी कहा था कि राजस्थान पत्रिका के प्रधान संपादक गुलाब कोठारी की पत्र याचिका पर 20 जनवरी, 2017 तथा 15 दिसंबर, 2018 के आदेशों की अवहेलना में किसी तरह के अवैध निर्माण या कब्जे का नियमन नहीं किया जाए।

Link for Oct 6 order: https://claim-for-commons.blogspot.com/2021/12/rajasthan-hc-in-roshan-vyas-vs-state-of.html

_____________________________________________________________________________________

[Translated by Google]

Jodhpur: The state government said in the Rajasthan High Court on Thursday that during the campaign Prashasan Shehron Ke Sang, there will be no regulation on common lands, river-ponds, grazing lands and restricted category land. The hearing of the petition will continue on Friday as well.

During the hearing of the PIL filed by petitioner Bhanwar Singh in a division bench of Chief Justice Akil Qureshi and Justice Sudesh Bansal, Harin P. Rawal, appearing for the government, said that no regulation will be done contrary to the spirit of the master plan. He said that the government has the right to convert agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes. Even during land conversion under Section 90-A of the Land Revenue Act, action is taken according to the permissible land use in the master plan. The petition has challenged the September 28 order of the state government and other orders issued along with it, regarding regularization of alleged irregular constructions.

It is worth noting that in another petition, the court had given detailed interim directions on October 6 prohibiting regularization of unauthorized occupation/construction over public lands, agricultural land or any other land, contrary to the Zonal Development Plan and Sector Plan of any town or city in Rajasthan, if already finalized and notified in conformity with the Master Development Plan. The court had also said that in towns and cities where the zonal development plan and sector plan are not duly approved, the process for regularization of any kind of individual construction or unauthorizedly developed colony should not be initiated. The court had also asked the government to ensure that no illegal construction or occupation is regulated in defiance of the orders of January 20, 2017 and December 15, 2018 on the letter petition of Gulab Kothari, editor-in-chief of Rajasthan Patrika.

Link for Oct 6 order: https://claim-for-commons.blogspot.com/2021/12/rajasthan-hc-in-roshan-vyas-vs-state-of.html

News: Odisha decides to regularise encroachment of govt land worth ₹4,000 cr

The occupation of 1893 acres of government land by 1274 high schools, 51 government colleges and 644 aided colleges would be regularised.

Updated on Nov 24, 2021 01:47 AM IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

In a major sop to around 2,000 high schools and colleges, the Odisha cabinet on Tuesday decided to regularise encroachment of all such institutions on government lands worth ₹4,000 crore.

The Cabinet which met on Tuesday decided that the occupation of 1893 acres of government land by 1,274 high schools, 51 government colleges and 644 aided colleges would be regularised. The total value of the land would be ₹4,000 crore.

Due to the inability of such institutions to pay the dues like premium, incidental charges, annual ground rent, cess, encroachment fees with penalty, interest, the land could not be recorded in the name of institutions.

The Cabinet decided all land, irrespective of the extent of area, under the occupation of standalone government degree colleges (including autonomous and non-autonomous government colleges) and standalone government higher secondary schools will be recorded in the name of the higher education department and school and mass education department respectively.

In the case of aided degree colleges having autonomous status and non-autonomous aided degree colleges and aided higher secondary schools, land up to 10 acres in urban areas and 15 acres in rural areas would be recorded in the name of the higher education department and school and mass education department respectively.

The land to be settled with the educational institutions should be leasable, non-forest, not in DLC list, un-objectionable, free from encroachment by anyone other than the said educational institutions, free from any encumbrances and should not be having any mineral reserve.

On settlement of such land, all previous encroachment cases booked by revenue authorities would be dropped and a token amount of Re 1 per acre per year towards assessment and penalty at Rs10 per acre per year may be charged. Interest on the arrear amount would be waived out. The cut-off date for consideration of occupation of government land by an institution would be January 1, 2020.

News: Officials told to raze church encroaching upon govt land [01.12.2021]

Published: Dec 01, 2021

Coming down heavily on the district authorities of Kancheepuram for not submitting proper counter-affidavit pertaining to the encroachment of a burial ground in government land in Pennalur village, the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the government to demolish the church that was built on the land within three weeks.

Madras High Court. 

Justice SM Subramaniam issued the direction while hearing a plea by one M Murugesan, a resident of Pennalur village, Sriperumbudur Taluk, who submitted that pastor C Sathrack illegally constructed a building on an access road leading to a burial ground.

“As per government records, the land has been earmarked as ‘mayanam’ (burial ground). However, the respondent has constructed the church without getting any permission or plan approval from the competent authorities. This is a violation under the Tamil Nadu Village Panchayat Act and needs to be evicted,” the petitioner submitted through his counsel M Sneha.

Additional government pleader C Selvaraj submitted a counter-affidavit on behalf of the Tahsildar, Sriperumpudur Taluk, stating that the land with survey number 83 has not been utilised as a burial ground and added that there was no serious objection from the villagers.

Displeased by the submission, the judge held that the counter affidavit explicitly supported the encroachment. “If the government officials file counter in an inadequate manner without placing the correct facts, it is to be construed as that they are failing in their public duties and further, misleading the court in respect placing the correct facts, which can never be tolerated,” the judge noted.

The judge also directed the Collector to conduct an inquiry on the lapses in filing a proper counter before the court. As pastor Sathrack had claimed that a resolution was passed by the village panchayat in 2013 granting permission to allot the land for constructing the church, the court directed the Collector to take action for passing an illegal resolution granting permission to encroach government land by religious institutions.

Link: https://www.dtnext.in/News/City/2021/12/01062447/1331559/Officials-told-to-raze-church-encroaching-upon-govt-.vpf

News: Menace of encroachments on public properties rising: Punjab and Haryana High Court [23.10.2021]

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that the menace of encroachments on public properties was “creeping up” day by day and creating obstructions to the planned development of the nation.

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, October 22

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that the menace of encroachments on public properties was “creeping up” day by day and creating obstructions to the planned development of the nation. The Bench also made it clear that any attempt to regularise illegal construction was deplored by the Supreme Court (SC).

The assertion by the Bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Ashok Kumar Verma came on a petition filed against the state of Haryana and other respondents in a case allegedly involving illegal and unauthorised possessions over shamlat land.

The Bench was told that the petitioners were found to be in illegal possession of shamlat land of a gram panchayat within the revenue estate of a village, following which Bhiwani assistant collector came to the conclusion that great loss had been suffered by the gram panchayat. Accordingly, he ordered the removal of the encroachments from the panchayat land.

Bhiwani Collector dismissed their appeal by passing a detailed speaking order dated February 20, 2020. Maintaining the order on the removal of the encroachments, he recorded that full opportunity was provided to the petitioners. The revision filed against the orders, too, was dismissed by Rohtak Division Commissioner.

The Bench asserted that the SC took note of the fact that village common land in large parts of the country had been grabbed by unscrupulous persons, using muscle, money and political power to the extent that such land existed only on paper in many states.

It was held that the encroachers must be ordered to remove such constructions and hand over land possession to the gram panchayat even if they had built houses.

Shamlat is for common use

The encroachers must be ordered to remove illegal constructions and hand over land possession to the gram panchayat even if they had built houses there. The gram sabha/gram panchayat land must be kept for the common use of the village residents, the court said.

News Clipping: Prepare broad plan to save grazing lands from encroachments, tells HC [16.09.2021]

The Madras High Court asked the government to come up with a broad plan to evict thousands of encroachers from meikal poromboke (grazing grounds) across the State.

Chennai: The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu issued the direction while passing interim orders on a public interest litigation that complained of encroachments (79,000) on grazing lands despite a Supreme Court order that they should not be used for residential or industrial purpose.

Pointing out that the demand for more land for industry and buildings would grow in proportion with the population growth but the extent of available land could not be stretched, the bench said, “Unfortunately, long-term plans, the gestation gap involved in such projects and the short tenure of governance of five years combine to produce an alchemy of decisions that may not be best suited. It is time that the long-term prospects of basic survival are given importance.”

Though laws are in place, their implementation was tardy, it said. “Oftentimes, the tardiness may be deliberate and may even be forced because of there being no other alternative,” the bench added.

Stressing that there should be no encroachment of grazing land, the bench said officials should take immediate steps to remove encroachment. “The matter must receive the attention at the highest level,” it insisted.

Seeking the state to present a broad plan of action within five weeks, the bench also noted “As in most other cases, where the short-term benefits result in a rather myopic view being taken, the State is reminded that this, in the long-term, may be an existential or survival issue that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.”

“The court can only express a pious wish that all encroachers are removed, but there is also a human side to the matter and squatters cannot be thrown out without being provided an alternative. That would result in removing encroachment from one place and creating ground for encroachment in another. It is the problem that the executive has to deal with it having various departments, including the Slum Clearance Board. A possible change in psyche may be needed where it must be explored whether it may be beneficial to build higher than to build wider,” said the bench led by Chief Justice Banerjee.