Land partition cases to be decided in six months: Negi

In a relief for landowners stuck in ancestral land partition cases for decades, the Himachal Government has decided to make the process of land partition in the state time-bound. The government has made provisions in the Revenue Act under which the officials concerned dealing with land partition cases will have to decide these within six months.

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Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi told The Tribune in Dharamsala yesterday that the state government had made amendments to the Revenue Act. Under the new provisions, the revenue officials had been given powers to decide land partition cases ex-parte if one of the parties did not appear after summons were issued.

Negi said that thousands of people in state were waiting to get their ancestral land partitioned as one of the parties kept on objecting to the process or did not appear in the cases. “Many such cases are lingering in revenue courts for decades. With the new amendments in the Revenue Act, the officials concerned will be directed to decide land partition cases in six months even if they have to do it ex-parte. This will help many people in the state get the possession of their ancestral lands and use it,” the minister added.

The land partition cases have been lingering at the level of tehsildars all over the state. RM Sharma, a resident of Dehra in Kangra district, said that he had been trying to get his ancestral land partitioned for about 10 years.

Sharma said, “Every time I filed a revenue case, my relatives objected to it and it is lingering in court. After retirement, I wanted to construct a house on my ancestral land but have not been able to do as it has not been partitioned and exists in co-sharing with my relatives. I hope the amendments made by the government to the Revenue Act will help me get the possession of my share in the ancestral land.”

Asked about the proposal of the state government to allow tea tourism in Kangra, the minister said that rules and regulations for allowing tea tourism in the state were still being framed. “The government has to make sure that there is no misuse of the land of tea gardens. Tea tourism will be allowed in tea gardens only after rules and regulations for it are framed,” he added.

Negi said that the Revenue Department would be pushing for the settlement of land in the state. “It is unfortunate that land settlement in many districts such as Chamba, Kullu and Mandi has not been completed even once. Land settlement in other districts is also due even after 40 years when the last settlement was done,” he added.

Tea tourism rules being framed

Rules and regulations for allowing tea tourism in the state are still being framed. The government has to make sure that there is no misuse of land of tea gardens. Tea tourism will be allowed in tea gardens only after the rules and regulations for it are framed. Jagat Singh Negi, revenue minister