Govt wants back land given to poor families

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, February 20

The district administration is set to serve eviction notices on 332 Dalit families who had been allotted 100 square yard plots each in 2010-11 under Mahatma Gandhi Gramin Basti Yojna for below poverty line (BPL) families.

Around half of these families had started residing here after construction of houses on the plots. The matter came to light when the remaining applicants eligible under the scheme approached the authorities to hand over plots to them.

The issue was taken up in the district public relations and grievances committee meeting on December 21 last year.

Sources said the Panchayat Department had objected to carving out of plots on common land as it had been earmarked as pond land in the revenue record.

A Supreme Court verdict in 2011 had stated that common land in any village could not be encroached upon for any purpose and issued directions to state governments to ensure removal of encroachment from such land.

In view of the apex court verdict, minister Banwari Lal, who chaired the committee meeting, directed the authorities to get the entire common land evicted by cancelling the allotment of plots to beneficiaries.

Acting on the minister’s directions, the Panchayat Department started the process of serving eviction notices on them.

The department sought the names of officials responsible for the carving out of residential plots on common village land in violation of Supreme Court directions, the sources said.

District Development and Panchayat Officer Arvind Malik said the department would acquire land elsewhere for allotment to beneficiaries under the BPL scheme.