B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

50 booked for selling plots allotted free of cost by govt
Faridkot, February 21
The Bajakhana police in Faridkot district today booked 50 beneficiaries in two villages of the district for selling off five marla plots allotted to them free of cost by the state government 20 years back.

Chiranji Lal Garg appointed Preneet’s political adviser
Bathinda, February 21
Former Punjab Minister and local Congress leader Chiranji Lal Garg has been appointed as the political adviser of Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Preneet Kaur.  A former SAD MLA, Garg quit the party and joined the Congress in December 2011 just before the Vidhan Sabha elections. President of the Punjab Aggarwal Sabha, Chiranji Lal Garg was minister for science and technology in the SAD-BJP government from 1997-2002. An advocate by profession, he had quit the SAD in protest after Sarup Chand Singla was given the party ticket. — TNS

50 booked for selling plots allotted free of cost by govt
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, February 21
The Bajakhana police in Faridkot district today booked 50 beneficiaries in two villages of the district for selling off five marla plots allotted to them free of cost by the state government 20 years back.

These plots were allotted by the Rural Development and Panchayat Department to people belonging to the Scheduled Caste and other poor and landless families between 1990 and 1997.

The plots were allotted from the shamlat (common) land of the Gram Panchayat. As per rules, the beneficiaries could neither sell nor transfer these plots.

But during an inquiry by the Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO), Kotkapura, it was found that 24 beneficiaries in Bara Bhai Ka and 26 in Panjgrain Kalan village in Kotkapura block in Faridkot have sold off or transferred their plots, violating the Punjab Village Common Land Regulation Act under which the allotments were made.

District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO), Faridkot, Amarbir Singh Sidhu said after an inquiry by the BDPO, the village panchyats were asked to take necessary action against the beneficiaries but as no action was taken, the matter was reported to the police.

"We are investigating the status of such plots in other villages of the district and in case these have been transferred, legal action would be taken against those who transferred these plots as well as those who took possession," said the DDPO.

As per Section 13A of the Punjab Village Common Land Regulation Act, the beneficiary cannot sell, mortgage or dispose of land in any other manner.

The rural development department started investigations into the transfer of these plots after a Sangrur resident filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, demanding inquiry into the allotments. He alleged that a large number of beneficiaries had sold off the plots. After receiving a direction from the HC, the rural development department started the inquiry.

Last month, the Moga police had booked more than 400 beneficiaries in Kadiyal, Jogewala, Darapur, Baghelewala, Jhandeana Garbi, Dagru, Mahesri Sandhua, Kaliewala, Korewala Khurd Mangewala and Daroli Bhai villages of the district for selling residential plots allotted to them free of cost by the state government 15 years ago.

As the ownership of these plots still vests in the village panchayats and the allotment was made to the poor only for residential purposes, so criminal cases have been registered against those who sold and purchased these plots, said the DDPO.