162.5-acre panchayat land under unlawful occupation

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, July 20

The Block Development and Panchayat Office (BDPO) at Jagraon has unearthed a huge chunk of valuable 162.5-acre panchayat land, falling in Lakha village, being under unlawful occupation by certain individuals for past several years. Legal proceedings have been launched to regain possession of the land, recorded as ‘shamlat deh hasad rasad kar khewat’ in the revenue records being under the ownership of the village panchayat, by the latter.

According to the BDPO, Jagraon, Amarinder Pal Singh Chauhan, the cultivabale land being leased annually by the Lakha panchayat was only 12 acres.

“However, checking of revenue records revealed that land measuring 1,300 kanal 13 marlas of ‘shamlat deh’ land, under the ownership of the panchayat as per provisions of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961, was under the clutches of some 350 individuals. At some places, commercial buildings and residential houses had also been constructed by the encroachers,” he said.

He said while the land, as per law, was not in the ownership of any private person and was meant for common purpose and collective benefit of the village population, but in this case, unfortunately, the land was under unlawful occupation (encroachment) of private individuals for the past many years. As such, neither any benefit could be derived by the panchayat from the land nor could the same be used for the benefit of the village community.

The BDPO said after verification of the records, village sarpanch Jasvir Singh has been directed by his office to launch proceedings as per law to remove the unlawful occupants and regain possession of the land. Accordingly, to protect the interests of the panchayat, the sarpanch has filed a petition under Section 7 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulations) Act, 1961, on July 9 this year in the court of the District Development and Panchayat Officer-cum-Collector, here. 

Legal action to regain possession initiated

Sarpanch Jasvir Singh has filed a petition under Section 7 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulations) Act, 1961, on July 9 this year in the court of the District Development and Panchayat Officer-cum-Collector, here to remove unlawful occupants and regain possession of the land.