Punjab Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal (light blue turban). (File)The Punjab government has identified 26,300 acres of illegally occupied cultivable panchayat land, which will be freed and handed over to panchayats, Rural Development Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal Thursday said.
Dhaliwal said the department had launched a special drive to identify such shamlat (common) village land. He said government identified 26,300 acres of cultivable panchayat land worth around Rs 92,000, he said, adding that it will be recovered and handed over to panchayats.
The minister said a special cell was set up by the department to run the campaign effectively and they are thoroughly examining all revenue records. So far, they have compared records of 86 of 153 blocks to identify such land, Dhaliwal said, adding officials have been directed to complete the identification of such land in the remaining blocks by December 2023.
The records of the shamlat land are being uploaded on the website of the department, the minister said stressing that earlier 9,126 acres were freed from illegal occupants.
Following an appeal from the chief minister, people have also come forward willingly and handed over 3,435 acres to village panchayats, he said.
Dhaliwal said the recovered land will be used for development works by panchayats. The cultivable land will be given on annual lease while the non-cultivable one will be used to increase the green cover, he said.
Terming it a great achievement of the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government, the minister said previous governments did not bother to identify or take care of the common village land.