Saini’s ‘sop opera’: Squatters on panchayat land to get ownership rights

On the day the State Election Commission (SEC) announced municipal poll in Haryana, the Saini government unveiled a bonanza for thousands of illegal squatters, who have been living in houses built on panchayat land across Haryana for at least 20 years.

With an eye on the forthcoming March 2 poll, the Cabinet, which met here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini today, effected a major amendment to the Haryana Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961.

Terming it a major “pro-people” decision aimed at benefiting the common man, Saini claimed that thousands of people would get ownership rights following amendment to the Act. The owners of the houses built on land up to 500 square yards would be eligible for rights under the new regime.

The house owners would get the ownership rights at the collector rates prevalent in 2004. Now, the power to grant approval for the rights, which was earlier vested with the government, has now been delegated to the Director, Panchayats, to make the process transparent and hassle-free. A window of one year has been given to the house owners.

Thousands of persons have been living on shamlat deh (village common land) for several decades. A substantial number has been living in houses along the Yamuna, Ghaggar and Markanda rivers. They were forced to construct houses in new places as their houses were inundated during the monsoon.