Removal of encroachments on Trust land faces rough weather again

Kuldip Bhatia

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Ludhiana, December 14

Even as the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) authorities face the threat of contempt of court proceedings in the Punjab and Haryana High Court for failure to clear encroachments from a prime chunk of land in Dr Ambedkar Nagar (Dhakka Colony) falling in the C Block of Model Town Extension, the proposed action might not materialise, at least for the time being, as the Revenue Department has expressed its inability to provide demarcation of specific khasra numbers in the area.

It was after a legal notice served by Rohit Sabharwal, president of the Council of RTI Activists, that the LIT authorities had written to revenue officials concerned in July and August 2015 to provide demarcation of specific khasra numbers acquired in Dugri village under its Model Town Extension Scheme.

In a DO letter to the Tehsildar, Ludhiana (West), the executive officer of the Trust had sought demarcation of acquired land so that encroachments could be identified and removed in compliance with the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court made in disposal of the COCP 1299 of 2009 regarding the removal of encroachments on government land.

As the revenue officials failed to act upon the submission made by the LIT for demarcation of land under encroachments, Sabharwal, in the meantime, lodged a complaint on the online sangat darshan programme of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal about brazen encroachments on prime land in the Model Town Extension under the garb of “dhakka colony”, and the failure of the LIT to take action as per law against the offenders.

Expressing the inability to provide demarcation of specific khasra numbers (total 41) hadbast no 277 falling in Dugri village, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (West) has now written to the Deputy Commissioner (vide letter no 2799 dated November 17, 2015) that the said khasra numbers were now under thickly populated area of Model Town Extension.

“Further, the khasras falling in Dugri village have not been properly subdivided into rectangles (khatauni), nor any identification marks (burjis) are present on their designated place,” says the letter with the concluding remarks that in the prevailing circumstances it was not possible to provide demarcation of the specific khasra numbers in the said locality as demanded by the LIT authorities.

With the revenue officials throwing spanner in the works, the LIT authorities were in a quandary. They were not able to proceed towards removal of encroachments nor could they just close their eyes to unlawful possession on government land with the threat of contempt proceedings looming large upon their head.

“LIT officials said they had no other choice but to conduct a spot survey of the colony and ask the residents to produce documents pertaining to ownership and possession of land. Further follow-up action will be taken on the basis of survey report and response from the residents,” they said.