Short of funds, Punjab hastens plan to 'unlock value' of unused land

The Punjab Government has fastened its exercise to “sell family silver” in order to make a quick buck and give a fillip to the state’s sagging economy. This time, the government has identified chunks of unused land to first develop and then sell under the Optimum Utilisation of Vacant Government Lands (OUVGL) Scheme.

At a meeting of the empowered committee (OUVGL) held on Thursday, the panel headed by Chief Secretary KAP Sinha discussed development costs and net revenue/profit expected from disposing several land pockets in Patiala, Bathinda, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar. The committee also reviewed the progress in retrieving this land from various departments for transfer to the urban development authorities. According to the government estimates, the sale of these land pockets will generate a net profit/revenue of Rs 2,789 crore. Sinha did not respond to calls or messages from The Tribune.

Punjab’s fiscal health has remained precarious, with its outstanding debt touching Rs 4 lakh crore (Rs 3.98 lakh crore till October). Rising subsidy bills, interest on legacy debt and expenditure on salaries and pensions have left no legroom for capital expenditure. With the next Vidhan Sabha elections just 14 months away, the AAP government is struggling not only to improve public infrastructure but also to fulfil its pre-poll promise of giving Rs 1,100 per month honorarium to all women in the state. To tide over the financial crisis, it has decided to unlock value from vacant or unutilised government land under the OUVGL Scheme introduced nearly three decades ago.

The Tribune has learnt that the land pockets being considered for transfer to the urban development authorities belong to Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL), Health Department, Transport Department, MARKFED, Punjab Mandi Board, Punjab Agro Industries Corporation and the Punjab Khadi and Village Industries Board. Of nearly Rs 3,000 crore the state hopes to generate through monetising these sites, the maximum revenue -- Rs 2,219.58 crore -- will come from the PSPCL, whose six sites in Patiala, Bathinda, Ludhiana and Jalandhar are being considered for disposal.

Discussions were also held on transferring a 57.82-acre site in Mullanpur Garibdas village of Mohali from the Forest Department to the urban development authority. This land, now in the heart of New Chandigarh, was first transferred to PUDA in March 2004. However, in October 2010, the Empowered Committee of PUDA approved its transfer to the Forest Department as the land fell under the green belt. Since 19 acres of the site had been encroached upon, only the encroachment-free area was demarcated and transferred to the Forest Department, where a Nature Park was later set up after compensatory afforestation.

Government sources told The Tribune that because this was not forest land but was only used for compensatory afforestation, it could now be used for other activities, and in lieu of this, compensatory afforestation would be carried out on a chunk of government land in Ludhiana.