Facing eviction, residents seek regularisation of 5 Adampur villages

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, November 10

Five villages of the Adampur Assembly constituency have now pinned hopes on the new local MLA for relief from the state government. The residents here are facing eviction threat as these villages are situated on around 235 acres allotted to the families of freedom fighters.

Residents of Dhandoor, Pirawali, C-Block Chikanwas, Beed Babran and Diggi Taal villages were served eviction notices four years ago. The villages jointly have a population of about 25,000.

Located about a few kilometres from Hisar town, these villages are part of the Adampur constituency. The residents of these villages had raised the demand for regularisation of their houses with the candidates contesting the election. Bhavya Bishnoi had promised them that he would take up the issue with the state government, they claimed.

Dhandoor village sarpanch Manoj Sharma said they were assured by Bhavya that he would take up the matter with the state government after the election. “We hope that the state government will listen to our demand now,” he said. After an agitation in 2018, the government had sought a status report from the administration about these villages, the sarpanch said.

“We have got indications that Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has a positive approach towards this issue. Now, we hope that the newly appointed MLA will also push for our demand,” he said.

BJP MLA Bhavya Bishnoi told The Tribune that regularisation of those five villages was one of the top priorities on his to-do list. “I know the matter and have discussed it in detail with the local residents. I will strive for the amicable settlement of the matter in favour of the local residents who are residing here for around four decade,” he said.

These villages have elected panchayats and all facilities provided by various departments, according to the Dhandoor sarpanch. They were taken aback when a number of residents were served notices four years ago under the Haryana Public Premises and Land (Eviction and Land Recovery) Act, 1972, which stated, “You entered into the disputed land forcibly without permission of its owner (Haryana state). Thus your possession on the land is wrongful and unauthorised.”

Land row

• In 1955, the then Punjab Government headed by Pratap Singh Kairon leased out agriculture land to 425 families of freedom fighters and mujaras families (landless labourers)
• Later, they were given the ownership rights of the land, but the land demarcated for residential purposes of the beneficiaries was not mutated in their names

Developments so far

• Five villages served eviction notices in 2018
• Villagers launch stir in 2019 against the move
• Government sought feasibility report from administration
• Villagers take up demand with the CM and Bhavya Bishnoi