Patiala's PDA-Omaxe City project: Allottees to pay Rs 35L more for farmers’ relief

Ravneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 16

The Patiala Development Authority (PDA) has decided to collect Rs 430 per square yard more from allottees of plots at the PDA-Omaxe city project on the Patiala-Sirhind road here.

The process of recovering amounts from the allottees has not come to an end even 18 years after 336 acres of land at Baran village was acquired for the project in 2003. Before this, the allottees have already paid a cumulative of Rs 2,022 per square yard while the area remained undeveloped for years.

PDA officials said land acquisition collector-cum-SDM office recently raised demands of Rs 35.90 lakh from the PDA for payments to be made to farmers. This was after the farmers demanded compensation for acquisition of their land as was awarded to landowners who had earlier gone to the court claiming they were not compensated properly.

In fact, the allottees have already paid a cumulative of Rs 2,022 per square yard towards enhanced payments for the farmers in instalments of Rs 499, 560 and 963 per square yard on different occasions as per orders of the PDA. The latest amount of Rs 963 per square yard was collected in 2018 after a Supreme Courtjudgment.

Vinay Bublani, chief administrator, PDA, said, “Earlier, recovery notices of Rs 963 per square yard were issued to allottees after the land acquisition collector raised a claim of Rs 141.32 crore for the enhanced compensation. However, the office has further raised a claim for Rs 35.90 crore enhanced compensation related to landowners who filed their claims for the same in 2021. Therefore, recovery notices at the rate of Rs 430 are being issued now.”

SDM Charanjit Singh said, “This recovery is being made to make payments to farmers. No more recovery is pending with the PDA anymore.”