Rs 2,000-cr panchayat land illegally occupied in Punjab

Vishav Bharti

Chandigarh, April 26

Land grabbers are occupying panchayat land worth Rs 2,000 crore across the state, says a government report.

As per the report, prepared by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats, of the 6.68 lakh acre falling under it, 4.98 lakh acre is not cultivable owing to hilly terrain, besides forests, roads, ponds, schools and dispensaries on it. Just 1.70 lakh acre is cultivable.

The department auctions the land on lease every year and in the last financial year, it earned Rs 384 crore.

The report notes a total of 18,412 acre of panchayat land is being illegally occupied by private individuals in the state. Going by the average collector rate in Punjab, the cost of the land comes to around Rs 2,000 crore.

On an average, the department earns Rs 28,415 per acre from the auctioned land every year. As per the department, if the illegally occupied land is vacated, the department can earn Rs 50 crore annually from its auction alone.

However, the department says the issue of illegal occupation of panchayat land has been going on for decades. Interestingly, the department has failed to take legal recourse to get vacated at least 3,893 acre occupied illegally.

There are six districts where more than 1,000 acre of panchayat land is in the hands of private individuals. Patiala tops with 3,885 acre, followed by Kapurthala (3,007), Fatehgarh Sahib (2,448), Ludhiana (1,943), Jalandhar (1,295) and Amritsar (1,092 acre). Districts where least land has been occupied illegally include Moga (32 acre), Mansa (48), SBS Nagar (56), Barnala (74) and Faridkot (78 acre).

Significantly, Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal has ordered an inquiry into encroachment on all panchayat lands and launched a special drive. He has set a target of removing encroachments from 5,000 acre of panchayat land by May 31 in Phase I.

Auction fetched Rs 384 cr last fiscal

• The panchayats dept auctions land on lease every year and earned Rs 384 crore during last fiscal
• If the illegally occupied land is vacated, it can earn Rs 50 crore annually from the auction alone

Under panchayat department

• 6.68 lakh acre total land
• 4.98 lakh acre uncultivable
• 1.70 lakh acre cultivable

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