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Forced deferment of Ambala Cantt freehold policy in public interest: Vij
In a statement, the minister, who is also MLA from Ambala Cantonment, said had the policy been cleared in its present form, the people of Ambala Cantonment would have suffered immensely
Haryana transport minister Anil Vij on Thursday said he forced the deferment of the proposed Ambala Cantonment freehold policy in the July 28 council of ministers meeting, arguing that it had been drafted without consulting the area’s elected representative and contained provisions that would affect residents.
In a statement, the minister, who is also MLA from Ambala Cantonment, said had the policy been cleared in its present form, the people of Ambala Cantonment would have suffered immensely.
Vij said the freehold policy proposal was introduced as an additional cabinet agenda item (number 17). Vij said he objected and told the chief minister Nayab Singh Saini that he had not been consulted even once despite representing the Ambala Cantonment constituency seven times.
Vij questioned how a policy concerning Ambala Cantonment could be framed without consulting its elected representative or understanding the aspirations of its residents. The minister insisted that the agenda be deferred and urged the CM to convene a separate meeting involving himself as well as all officials responsible for drafting the policy, so that every aspect could be examined before any decision was taken. Vij said that because of his intervention, the proposal was not approved in the cabinet meeting.
According to a statement, the minister held an extensive discussion with BJP workers at Aggarwal Dharamshala, Ambala Cantonment on Thursday on the newly proposed policy for Ambala Cantonment. He said that after the council of ministers meeting, he carefully studied the draft policy along with legal experts.
According to the policy, every property holder would have to get the land registered at the collector rate. Explaining with an example, he said that if a person owns 1,000 square yards of land and the collector rate is ₹60,000 per square yard, the individual would have to deposit ₹6 crore for registration. “The same principle would apply irrespective of whether the property measures 100, 200, 500, 1,000 or even 2,000 square yards,” he said.
Vij pointed out that the policy provides that if the required amount is not deposited, the government may seal the property, take possession of it and dispose of it. Another provision requires applicants to submit the original ownership documents of the land.
Vij questioned how residents could be expected to produce documents dating back nearly 150 years, especially when many ancestral property divisions had taken place orally without written records.
‘People may have to move court if concerns are not addressed’
“If the people of Ambala Cantonment have to fight for their legitimate rights, I will stand with them,’’ Vij said. The minister said that there are three possible courses of action. The first, he said, is that he hopes the proposed meeting will lead to the removal of the objectionable provisions in the policy because he is fully aware of the historical background of Ambala Cantonment.
The second option, if the concerns are not addressed, would be to challenge the policy in court. For this purpose, he suggested that a strong citizens’ committee should be constituted to pursue the matter legally. The third possibility, which he described as the most difficult, was that people might have to fight even against the government for their legitimate rights.
