Punjab Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu Thursday said that efforts were being made by the state government to get the encroached on shamlat land on in the periphery of Chandigarh freed and that they had achieved some success in Kharar and Nayagaon. Advertising He was answering Kharar MLA Kanwar Sandhu in the ongoing Budget session of Punjab Assembly regarding the steps taken by the state government since it came to power, when Sidhu also said that the value of such land could probably match the repayment of the entire debt of the state. “In case the status of shamlat land of the entire state is viewed, its value would be behemoth, probably matching the repayment of total loan of the state of Punjab,” he said. The minister said that mutation of shamlat land of Punjab was done “in collusion with private persons” in 1995. Matter of such land in Mohali district adjacent to Chandigarh are pending in the High Court, he added. About the encroached on land in Nadda village under Nayagaon Municipal Council, Sidhu said that for ownership of 1,200 kanal and seven marla land, the matter is being pursued with the district administration. “Besides, litigations regarding various land pieces are underway in different courts,” he said. Referring to the encroachments on government land in Kharar, he said that possession of 139 kanal and eight marla was taken in September 2018, while ownership boards were installed by the Kharar MC over 77 kanal and eight marla land in Fatehulahpur village after taking possession in October 2018. He added that the issue dates back before the inclusion of these areas in the municipal limits and that a case was subjudice in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. “Matter of such land in Mohali district adjacent to Chandigarh is pending in the High Court in Kuldeep Singh Versus State of Punjab case since 2007. The court constituted Justice Kuldeep Singh Tribunal in 2011, according to which mutations have been wrongly done in the names of private persons in 1995,” said the minister. “Nayagaon Municipal Council via resolution 195 and 198 dated July 6, 2018, approved passing of building plans and issue of No-objection Certificates over shamlat land falling in its jurisdiction. These resolutions were rejected by the government,” he informed the House. Advertising The minister also informed the House that the state government had formed a committee to take steps to vacate the government land from encroachers and it would soon submit its report to the Cabinet.

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