As part of the Punjab government’s ongoing campaign, a team from Zirakpur municipal council on Wednesday freed 17 acres of illegally occupied government land in Sanoli village. Officials said the land had been under encroachments for the past 40 years.
The operation was led by naib tehsildar Jagpal Singh and Zirakpur municipal council executive officer Ravneet Singh under the supervision of Dera Bassi sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Himanshu Gupta.
The shamlat land, worth around ₹200 crore, which was under occupation by a private school, was seized and released. EO Ravneet Singh appealed to encroachers to vacate illegally occupied land immediately, failing which, strict action will be taken against them.
The court of Mohali district rural development and panchayats officer-cum-collector had given a decision to release this land under Section 7 of the Punjab Villages Common Lands Act, 1961.
It was released under warrants of possession issued by Dera Bassi SDM Himanshu Gupta and handed into the possession of the municipal council in the presence of officials including kanungo Kuldeep Singh, building inspector Lakhbir Singh, junior engineer Ishan Kumar and police.