Chandigarh Admn takes over 351-acre shamlat land in 17 villages

Tribune News Service

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Chandigarh, March 24

On the directions of the Supreme Court, the UT Administration has taken possession of nearly 351 acres of shamlat land (common land) in 17 villages. The administration will now hand over the land to the Municipal Corporation (MC) for development.

According to the order issued by the Supreme Court last April, the entire land reserved for common purposes by applying pro-rata cut has to be utilised by the gram panchayat for the present and future needs of the village community. No part of the land can be re-partitioned amongst the proprietors and such land will not be available for sale, the apex court had stated.

MC to spend Rs 2.4 cr on fencing

• After getting possession of shamlat land from UT, the civic body will develop facilities there
• The Municipal Corporation has prepared a budget of Rs 2.39 crore to carry out fencing on the land
• The agenda in this regard is likely to be tabled in the House meet to be held next month

A senior UT official said they had taken possession of nearly 351 acres of shamlat land and it would soon be handed over to the MC. The civic body would remove encroachments, if any, after getting possession of the land, he added.

Of the total 351 acres, nearly 200 acres were encroached upon or being used to dump garbage, the official said, adding residential areas in the neighbourhood were facing unhygienic conditions due to the dumping of waste.

After the merger of 13 UT villages, including Behlana, Raipur Khurd, Raipur Kalan, Makhan Majra, Daria, Mauli Jagran, Kishangarh, Kaimbwala, Khuda Ali Sher, Khuda Jassu, Khuda Lahora, Sarangpur and Dhanas, with the MC in January 2019, the total strength of villages with the civic body had increased to 23.

An official of the MC said a budget of more than Rs 2.39 crore had been prepared to carry out fencing after getting possession of the land following which facilities would be developed there. The official said the agenda was likely to be tabled in the upcoming meeting of the House in the first week of April. A senior MC official said they were in the process of fencing off the area and subsequently a development plan would be worked out.

A former sarpanch of Daria village alleged people had constructed houses on shamlat land in most of the villages in UT, apart from building sheds for cattle, labour, etc.

The villages

Khuda Lahora, Khuda Jassu, Khuda Ali Sher, Mauli Jagran, Dadu Majra, Daria, Burail, Palsora, Sarangpur, Maloya, Raipur Kalan, Badheri, Dhanas, Kaimbwala, Mani Majra, Behlana and Kajheri

Houses built on common land

People have constructed houses on shamlat land in most of UT villages, claims a former sarpanch of Daria village. Many have built sheds for cattle, labour, etc. on the village common land, he adds.

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