Chandigarh, June 26, 2015: Haryana Chief Minister Mr Manohar Lal has ordered a vigilance inquiry to thoroughly investigate the irregularities committed in disbursement of compensation for acquired Shamilat land of various villages in district Panchkula from 1998 to 2014.
While stating this here today, an official spokesman said that taking a serious note of the issue, the Chief Minister has ordered the vigilance inquiry to establish whether the shareholders in the Shamilat land were entitled for compensation or not.
The spokesman said that the Zonal Administrator, Haryana Urban Development Authority-cum-Additional Director, Urban Estate (ADUE), Panchkula has reported that the payment of compensation in respect of Shamilat land has been made to the individuals without any order of the Collector having been passed under the Village Common Land Act. The villages involved are many Nada, Maheshpur, Choki, Saketri, Surajpur, Rampur, Siyudi, Rajipur and Manakpur etc.
The spokesman said that the total acquired Shamilat land falling in the revenue estates of 18 villages works out to 375.88 acres. The issue was decided by the Court of Additional District Judge. The compensation totals Rs 373.15 crore. As per the report of Land Acquisition Officer, there is violation of the provision contained in Section 13-A of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act 1961 as under Section 13-A of the aforesaid Act it is the Collector of the district concerned who is competent to adjudicate the claim in a suit filed before him pertaining to right, title or interest in any land or other immovable property vested or deemed to have been invested in Panchayat under this Act. As per provision of serial number 4 of Rule 71 of the Punjab Land Revenue Rule, “List of co-shares shall not be prepared and supplied without the previous sanction of the Collector unless required in connection with a revenue civil or criminal case.”
A compensation of Rs 57.74 crore is yet to be disbursed. The Zonal ADUE said that compensation and enhanced compensation have wrongly been paid to the individual shareholders without any order of Collector having been passed under the Village Common Land Act. As per many judgements passed by the High Court and Supreme Court of India wherein it has been held that Shamilat land vests in Gram Sabha / Gram Panchayat, the compensation or enhanced compensation should have gone to the respective Gram Panchayat or Municipal Corporation, Panchkula or the matter should have been referred to the Court of Additional District Judge under section 30 of the Act of 1894 for appointment of the compensation / enhanced compensation as has been done recently in case of enhanced compensation amounting Rs 5.91 crore for the acquired land of village Saketri. / (SK Vyas, Jalandhar)