Unused pockets in UT villages: admn to come up with fresh land usage policy

With an aim of optimal utilisation of the idle land pockets in UT villages and to check encroachments, the UT administration will be coming up with a new land usage policy.

The policy will also address the issue of the government acquiring land from private owners through land pooling. Under the land pooling scheme, the government acquires land not through buying it rather it makes land owners partners in development. It also allots commercially developed plots to owners in exchange for their land. The policy will cut delays in acquiring land and costs for the government.

Confirming the development, UT adviser Manoj Kumar Parida said, “The administration will be coming up with the land use policy, which will allow it to make full use of land lying idle in different villages of the city. The land can be used to develop infrastructure and development projects for different sectors such as health, education, etc. Under the policy, elements of the land pooling scheme will also be included, which will facilitate speedy and cheaper acquisition of land.”

The Indian Institute of Human Settlements, Bengaluru, has been assisting the UT administration in developing a plan for the use of land in villages for purposes of development. Recently, a presentation to this effect was made before the adviser too.

The proposal for formulating the policy took shape at a meeting of senior UT officials held on Friday at the UT Secretariat. The meeting was chaired by Punjab governor and UT administrator VPS Badnore.

BADNORE DIRECTS ACTION AGAINST ENCRAOCHMENTS

Badnore, it is learnt, directed district and MC officials to take steps to stop encroachments on village lands by erecting fencing around the government land in different areas.

Significantly, the UT urban planning department had reported large-scale illegal colonisation in Chandigarh villages in its report submitted in December last year.

The department had also shot off letters to MC commissioner, deputy commissioner-cum-estate officer and land acquisition officer (LAO) asking them to take immediate action to stop illegal constructions and colonisation.

“There is a lot of mushrooming of illegal constructions, which are going on against the notified Chandigarh Master Plan – 2031, which has strongly recommended for planned development of the Chandigarh peri-urban areas,” it had written on December 2. It had also warned against consequences of these unauthorised and unplanned constructions as they would change the character of planned development of Chandigarh.

The administration, responding to the report, had delegated powers of the deputy commissioner (DC) under the Punjab New Capital Periphery Control Act to three sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) working under the DC.