Cabinet sub-committee on encroachments calls for Justice Kuldip tribunal report

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 16

The Cabinet sub-committee set up the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to crack down on unauthorised occupation of government lands has called for the Justice Kuldip Singh Tribunal report on illegal transfer of hundreds of acres of common village land in name of individuals, covering 38 villages on the outskirts of Chandigarh. 

This could spell trouble for or influential people, including politicians, bureaucrats and police officers in whose name hundreds of acres of common village land has been illegally transferred in the villages.

The panel in its meeting held here on Monday decided to seek expert advice of Justice S.S. Saron (retd) and former DGP Chander Shekhar who would also be attending the next meeting. Local Bodies Minister Navjiot Singh Sidhu, Rural Development Minister Tripat Rajinder Bajwa and Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, who are member of the sub-committee, attended today’s meeting.

While deciding to extend the purview of the sub-committee beyond the rural development and local bodies department, the panel asked for identifying the departments whose assets have been illegally encroached upon. Sidhu said the data pertaining to all the government departments whose lands are under illegal occupation must be submitted in the next meeting. The panel also asked for details of the departments where the land despite under ownership of the government had not been entered in the mutation records.

Before formulating any policy, it is necessary to ascertain that how much of the government land is under illegal occupation irrespective of the department, said Sidhu. The next meeting has been called on May 3.