E-Paper
Ludhiana: 60 acres of land freed from illegal possession in Sahnewal
Punjab rural development and panchayats minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said the 60 acres of land at Mand Chaunta village in Sahnewal, Ludhiana, had been illegally occupied 18 people
The district administration on Tuesday cleared over 60 acres of land of illegal possession at Mand Chaunta village in Sahnewal in the presence of Punjab rural development and panchayats minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal.
Dhaliwal was accompanied by MLAs Hardeep Singh Mundian, Jagtar Singh Dyalpura and Jeevan Singh Sangowal; ADC (rural development) Amit Kumar Panchal, DDPO Sanjeev Kumar and other officials.
He said that a total of 121 acres of government land has been freed from illegal occupation in Ludhiana district so far.
He said that the land at Mand Chaunta was occupied by illegally by 18 people of the same village since 2007, when the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP was in power in Punjab.
Lashing out at Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress for not taking any concrete steps against such illegal activities in their tenures, the minister said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government will expedite the ongoing drive against encroachments in coming days.
He said that the land being reclaimed across the state will be will be leased out for agriculture purposes as well as commercial purposes. “Some of the them can also be sold to further strengthen the state exchequer,” Dhaliwal added.
He said as per a 2010 report , there are over 50,000 acres of government land under illegal possession and directions had been issued to the department to prepare a new report up to 2021 so that requisite action can be initiated.
On behalf of the AAP government, Dhaliwal urged those in illegal possession on these lands to free them, so that they can be utilised for the development of the state. He said the department is fully geared up to follow all legal proceedings to free these lands. He added that the state government will also honour all officials, panchayat members and residents who will assist them in making the drive a success.
Block development and panchayat officer (BDPO) Gurpreet Singh Mangat, panchayat secretary Kamaljit Singh, sarpanch Nirmal Singh and other officials were also present.
