Over 5 lakh acres of government land in Punjab under illegal occupation
Chandigarh, May 5: Five to six lakh acres of government land in Punjab is under illegal occupation, a cabinet sub-committee of of the state has pointed out.
Faced with this alarming situation, the cabinet sub-committee formed to ensure maintenance of Government Assets and Lands has sought a record of all government-owned lands from all the government boards, departments, corporations and other government institutions.
Committee chairman and state Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who held a meeting of the committee here on Saturday, said that as per the disclosures made in the meeting the total value of the government land under illegal occupation in Mohali district (adjoining Chandigarh) alone exceeds the debt of Punjab which is over Rs 210,000 crore.
"If the lands of such nature are identified in the whole state then it can lead to the rejuvenation of the Punjab from economic point of view," he said.
Former Director General of Police Chander Shekhar, who attended the meeting, disclosed that a total of 5 to 6 lakh acres of government lands are under illegal occupation throughout Punjab.
Presenting the facts and figures pertaining to Mohali district alone, he said that official records stated that out of a total land of 2,585 acres in Mohali district, 2,435 acres was under illegal occupation.
Sidhu said that it has been decided to constitute a committee of experts headed by retired Justice S.S. Saron and Chander Shekhar to free these government lands from the illegal occupation.
"In order to know the status of the government owned lands in the state, the cabinet sub committee has sought the record from all the departments/boards/corporations and other government institutions regarding the lands related to them and has also sought the details with regard to the aspect that how much land is under illegal occupation, how much land is under litigation and how much is laying unutilized," he said.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
