Chandigarh, February 19: To facilitate villagers/owners tomonetise property rights and avail various benefits provided by Governmentdepartments/institutions and banks, the Punjab Cabinet on Friday approved implementationof Mission Lal Lakir in all the villages across the state.
As no Record of Rights is available for such propertieswithin the Lal Lakir, the same cannot currently be monetized as per real valueof the property and no mortgages etc. can be created on such properties. Thereare households within the Lal Lakir which do not own property other than theareas within the Lal Lakir and are thus at a disadvantage when it comes tomonetizing or realising the real value of the property.
Under Mission Lal Lakir, Right of Record of propertieswithin Lal Lakir in the Villages of the State will be prepared, withcooperation of Government of India under the SVAMITVA Scheme. This will enable mapping the land, households,habitation and all other areas falling within the Lal Lakir.
The SVAMITVA scheme was handled by the Rural Development andPanchayats Department, but on the directives of the Chief Minister, it will nowbe transferred to Revenue & Rehabilitation department.
The implementation of Mission Lal Lakir would go a long wayin improving living standard of villagers and boosting their self-esteem.Issues arising out of rights relating to these properties would now be dealtwith through a litigation being drafted specially for these Lal Lakir properties.The common lands within the Lal Lakir, such as ponds, common gathering areasand even passages and streets, which were facing encroachments due tonon-availability/creation of record to maintain these assets, will now beprotected under the Mission.
Unauthorised Small/Marginal Farmers to Be AllottedEncroached Land in Their Possession
In another significant decision, the Cabinet also gaveapproval to ‘The Punjab (Welfare and Settlement of Landless, Marginal and SmallOccupant Farmers) Allotment of State Government Land Rules, 2021’ in order tomake allotment of encroached lands to unauthorized small and marginal farmerson the basis of a rational criteria by sale of land at a predetermined price.This would ensure a fair balance for the occupants who have been in possessionsince long, and for the Government to get its due revenue in respect of theunauthorized occupation of Government lands and also settle unnecessary longpending litigation.
The new rules would provide a mechanism for the receipt andprocess of the applications to be received under the Act. The eligible personunder the Act would apply to the Allotment Commissioner, who would issue anallotment letter after seeking report from Patwari with due diligence. Theallotment letter would be issued on payment of 25% of the total allotment priceand the rest of the 75% payment would have to be paid in lumpsum or in sixequated instalments. In case of default in payment of 25% of the allotmentprice, allotment letter would not be issued and the allotment would be revoked.In case of default in payment of the instalments as per the allotment letter,the payment would be allowed to be made along with 6% interest on delayedpayment within three months of the final payment due. After the payment of theentire sum, the conveyance deed would be registered in the name of the farmer.
It may be recalled that, as per the recommendations of theState Revenue Commission to allot lands to the landless, medium and smallfarmers at a fixed price on rational criteria as a legal framework forresolving welfare and various other disputes, another Act - ‘The Punjab(Welfare and Settlement of Landless, Marginal and Small Occupant Farmers)Allotment of State Government Land Act, 2021’ - was earlier passed to providerevenue to the government from illegal occupation of government land as well asto settle unnecessary pending lawsuits, so that proper balance can be struckbetween the two.
Industries & Commerce Dept Report Okayed
In another decision, the Punjab Cabinet has also approvedAdministrative Report of Industries & Commerce Department for the year2017-18.