Punjab Rural Development and Panchayat Minister S. Laljit Singh Bhullar, on Wednesday, successfully regained control of around 85 acres of panchayat land in village Harnampur under the Gram Panchayat Hirdapur. Speaking to the media on site, the Cabinet Minister informed that the land, with orchards of guava and other trees and having value of more than Rs.100 crore, in Harnampura village had been unlawfully occupied by industrialists and local villagers, which has been vacated under the ongoing campaign of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led state government.
He said that the land's possession has been returned to village Harnampur under Gram Panchayat Hirdapur. It will be subsequently allocated for agricultural purposes through open bidding, and the generated income will be utilized for the village's development.
The Rural Development Minister categorically instructed the officials not to include individuals, who have illegally occupied the land, in the bidding process. The Cabinet Minister urged the people of Punjab to collaborate with the state government in eradicating illegal occupations in their villages. He said that this cooperation would significantly enable the panchayats to make significant efforts towards increasing income.
He lamented that previous governments had extended patronage to people for encroached upon the panchayat land and thousands of acres in the state, from which the Punjab government was supposed to collect revenue on a large scale, could not be done. This situation has caused financial losses to the state exchequer.
The Cabinet Minister said, on the other hand Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led government is taking stringent measures against illegal occupations. Through it's continuous encroachment drive, thousands of acres of land, both commercial and agricultural, have been reclaimed from illegal occupation.
" The Minister affirmed that the campaign against illegal encroachment will persist in the future." On this occasion, Additional Deputy Commissioner Amardeep Singh Gujral, SDM Rupnagar Harkirat Kaur, DSP Trilochan Singh, Joint Director of Shamlat Cell Mr. Jagwinderjit Singh Sandhu and other senior officials were present.