672 acres of shamlat land in Jalandhar dist still under illegal occupation

Tribune News Service

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, May 23

In Jalandhar, more than 600 acres of panchayat land is currently under illegal occupation, according to data shared by the Panchayat Department.

This comes in wake of the Chief Minister’’s announcement to free all illegally occupied panchayat lands in the state from encroachments. The government has set a deadline of June 1 to reclaim the 672 acres, 7 kanal, and 5 marla of land that is unlawfully occupied across 30 villages in Jalandhar.

The government had initiated efforts to free illegally occupied panchayat lands last year, and the current action is part of the third phase of the government’’s initiative since coming to power. The encroachments in Chak Bahmanian and Thammanwal villages are the oldest in Jalandhar, with 149 acres and 97 acres of land, respectively, being illegally occupied.

It is worth noting that as of April last year, a total of 1,295 acres of panchayat land was under encroachment, indicating that nearly half of it has been reclaimed since then. Sources said the Panchayat Department had been sending directives to the villages concerned where encroachments are observed, and most panchayats are expected to comply. However, in cases where cooperation is lacking, law enforcement agencies would be involved.

The CM has urged the encroachers to voluntarily vacate the occupied land by May 31. The Rural Development and Panchayat Minister, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, has also instructed all District Development and Panchayat Officers (DDPOs) to ensure the freeing of all panchayat lands from encroachments by June 10.

Jalandhar DDPO Sukhbir Kaur said, “There are encroachments across 30 villages, totaling over 600 acres of land. Among the oldest encroachments in the district, are those where residential areas have been built over the illegally occupied lands. At many of these villages residential localities or village houses have been built, at others individuals have squatted upon the land. Last year too a substantial chunk of Jalandhar panchayat land had been freed from encroachers. The drive is on this year to get the land freed as per the government guidelines.”

Remove all encroachers by June 10: Minister

• Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal has instructed all District Development and Panchayat Officers to ensure that the entire panchayat land is freed from encroachments by June 10
• In April last year, a total of 1,295 acres of panchayat land was under illegal occupation, indicating that nearly half of it has been reclaimed since then