Legal battle for 850 acres of govt land continues at Rajgarh village

Rajgarh village in Payal, situated between Doraha and Sahnewal, has its own problems as nearly 850 acres of government land has been encroached upon by individuals for the last several decades, and the fight over authentic ownership continues. Payal Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) said the land belongs to the government but has been illegally occupied by several persons. The SDM said that several cases were being fought with some even being taken to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and many were still being fought in the civil courts. It was also learnt that about 40-50 writ petitions were filed in the High Court in 2004, following which they were disposed of by the High Court in 2012 with directions to private persons to declare their ownerships. These persons were asked to file a case in civil courts. At the same time, it was ordered by the court that the possession of the land would remain with private players till everything was cleared in the civil courts. “We are still presenting documents during the hearing of the cases,” said the SDM. Locals said the land of Payal was the most fertile. “Even if you dig an 18-20 feet pit here, you will find potable water, suitable for drinking, unlike at other villages in Ludhiana where you get polluted water even if you dig deep pits,” said Satnam Singh, a resident, adding that there were 113 villages under the Payal Subdivision. The residents said the overall condition of the roads was fine, but there were areas inside the town where roads were broken and needed immediate repairs.