Govt to reclaim panchayat land by Dec next year: Dhaliwal

A channel on WhatsApp (9115116262) has been launched for information about encroached land. After taking possession of shamlat land, department would hand it back to panchayat

Rural development and panchayats minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Thursday announced that the department has identified 26,300 acres of agriculture land belonging to the panchayats currently under illegal possession.

The department took break on its operations to reclaim land at the onset of paddy cultivation season. (HT file photo)

“This land is in 86 blocks of the state out of total 153 blocks. A report on assessment of remaining 67 blocks was being compiled which would be made public soon,” said the minister adding mediapersons here, adding that the previous governments have never taken cognizance of the missing land and it continues to be under the possession of people who are not the owners. The value of this land is ₹9,200 crores calculated at rate of ₹30 lakh per acre.

The minister added that with the identification of these lands parcels, phase-II of reclaiming panchayat department land has started. “We would take possession of the land by December 31, next year,” he informed. “In the first phase we have already reclaimed 9,126 acres of land and have given on lease for a year by which the government has raised ₹70 crores,” said the minister. Following an appeal by the chief minister Bhagwant Mann, people have come forward willingly and handed over about 3,435 acres of shamlat to the village panchayats, the minister informed.

The department took break on its operations to reclaim land at the onset of paddy cultivation season. The season is over and we would re-start it, said the minister. The department has opened a channel on WhatsApp (9115116262) for the people to give information about encroached land.

According to Dhaliwal, shamlat land belongs to the village panchayats and after taking its possession the department would hand it over back to the panchayat. The land which is cultivable would be given on annual lease and non-cultivable land would be used for plantation to preserve our environment.

Tomar promised but backtracked:

Talking to a section of mediapersons after the press conference, Dhaliwal said that he took union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar into confidence before offering

₹2,500 per acre as incentive to paddy growers for not burning stubble. “He (Tomar) promised that the Centre would contribute ₹1,500 per acre but when we move a formal proposal they backtracked,” said the minister. Out of total amount ₹500 each was to be contributed by state governments of Delhi and Punjab.

On being asked he said that farmers were not willing to accept ₹1,000 otherwise two state governments (Delhi and Punjab) would have made arrangement. The cost of managing paddy stubble is ₹3,000 per acre, he informed.

Trade with Pak comment blown over:

Replying to a question, the minister said that his comment on opening trade with Pakistan making borders along Punjab porous was blown out of proportion by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the campaign for state elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. “If the borders are opened for trade, it would immensely help Punjab and Haryana,” Dhaliwal said.