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Bill passed to stop individuals from disturbing public utilities in Haryana
The Haryana assembly on Tuesday passed a Bill that prohibits individuals from disturbing public utilities such as roads, paths, canals, public institutions, etc and claiming land of such public utilities 20 years after they were set up
The Haryana assembly on Tuesday passed a Bill that prohibits individuals from disturbing public utilities such as roads, paths, canals, public institutions, etc and claiming land of such public utilities 20 years after they were set up.
According to the statement of objects and reasons of the Haryana Prohibition of Change of Public Utilities Bill-2022, over a period of time, public utilities in the form of roads, path, canals, drains, buildings, etc have come up on the lands individuals had given to the government long back without a written agreement.
In revenue records, the individuals who had ‘donated’ land to the government had remained owners of such lands, the value of which has now increased manifold.
There are cases when individuals (next generations of those who had donated the land) have been disturbing such public utilities by seeking restoration of the land or by claiming rights on the land.
“The state government, due to all this, is facing enormous difficulties,” says the statement of objects of the bill.
Responding to the concerns that leaders of Opposition raised over the bill, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said decades back, people used to donate or gift their land to the government for development schemes. These donations were given with verbal consent and nothing was given in writing, he added.
“Today the next generations of those who had donated the land go to court and claim that the donated or gifted land belongs to them and public utility properties built on these lands should be dismantled. It is to safeguard the interests of the government that this bill has been introduced,” he said.
“Today, whenever we take any land for a government project, we transfer that land in the name of the department in writing, to avoid any chance of litigation. There is no such case today. All land litigation cases in question are 20, 30 and 50-years-old,” Khattar said.
Khattar said a provision has been made in the bill that an owner can file an appeal within 90 days.
Other bills passed
The Transplantation of Human Organs (Haryana Validation) Bill, 2022
Haryana Fire and Emergency Services Bill, 2022
Haryana Kisan Kalyan Pradhikaran (Amendment) Bill, 2022
Haryana Mechanical Vehicles (Levy of Tolls) Amendment Bill, 2022
Haryana Water Resources (Conservation, Regulation and Management) Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022
Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Bill, 2022
Haryana Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2022
