Haryana govt to buy land from farmers to prevent distress sale

Under this policy, farmers can submit proposals to the government for a potential sale, the spokesperson said.

To stop distress sale of land by farmers, Haryana has decided to buy it from farmers and create a landbank for planned development and prevent exploitation from middlemen, said a government spokesperson on Saturday.

The policy also calls for unutilised land from all departments and boards to be clubbed under the revenue and disaster management departments. (HT File Photo )

Under this policy, farmers can submit proposals to the government for a potential sale, the spokesperson said.

The policy was approved by the Haryana cabinet on Thursday. It would make land available to government departments, including boards and corporations, for development projects. The government also plans to form committees to oversee the implementation of the policy.

“Landowners, especially those living outside the country, at times have to make a distress sale of their assets due to slump in the market, due to pandemic, pressure from middlemen in the market or various other reasons, “ said the spokesperson. Such cases make it difficult to provide land for essential services such as waterworks, power sub-stations, colleges and other specialized institutions of higher learning including universities, medical colleges and other hospitals and polytechnics etc, the spokesperson said.

The policy also calls for unutilised land from all departments and boards to be clubbed under the revenue and disaster management departments. The revenue department will also make a landbank of evacuee land (lands formerly owned by people who left for Pakistan following partition) and nazul land (a technical term referring to unused government land), while it will also club land categorised as ‘shamlaat deh’ (common areas) and vested with panchayats. All these lands, plus those offered by landowners will be utilised in an optimum manner through this policy, the spokesperson said.