7,000 to get land ownership

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 28

Nearly 7,000 families, most of who had migrated from Pakistan during Partition, would finally get ownership rights of the land they have been living on in Punjab.

These families occupy about 6,000 acres of land, mostly in rural areas, and have been demanding ownership rights since long. They were given the status of tenant. Now, at a payment of Rs 10,000 per acre, they can become owners.

A Bill called the Punjab Bhondedar, Butemar, Dohlidar, Insar Miadi, Mukarraridar, Mindhimar, Panahi Qadeem, Saunjdar, or Taraddadkar (Vesting of Proprietary Rights) Bill, 2019 would be tabled in the next Vidhan Sabha session.

The Punjab Settlement Manual defines different categories of tenants on government land. For instance, Dohlidars are those who have been gifted a piece of land. This was usually given to Brahmins by big landowners. Butemars are those who cultivate a piece of land after clearing a forest.

Punjab has a three-fold aim behind the move. First, it wants to reach out to these migrants, making them owners of land. Second, the government is not earning any revenue from the nearly 6,000 acres, but will get at least something at the payment of Rs 10,000 per acre.

Third, Punjab, through this provision, is trying to send a message to other states where Sikhs are fighting for ownership rights like in Meghalaya, Sikkim and Gujarat.

A delegation of the Punjab government led by Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa recently shared details of the proposal with the Meghalaya government, also asking it to give ownership rights to Sikhs in the same way.

Randhawa said most of the beneficiaries would be Panahi Qadeem (migrants from Pakistan). He said, “The government has come up with this scheme as for all practical purposes, those occupying the land for generations are the owners, but do not have documents to say it.” He said many law and order problems would be prevented by giving ownership rights.

Interestingly, Haryana had enacted a legislation in 2010 by the same name but in 2018, it had to amend the provisions after a controversy erupted over a scam on usurping of panchayat land in the name of Dohlidars (Dholidars in Haryana).

Punjab officials said the Bill would be tabled for discussion so that any objections can be taken up.

Tenants to be owners

• Punjab Settlement Manual defines different categories of tenants on government land 
• Punjab Bhondedar, Butemar, Dohlidar, Insar Miadi, Mukarraridar, Mindhimar, Panahi Qadeem, Saunjdar, or Taraddadkar (Vesting of Proprietary Rights) Bill, 2019 to be tabled in the next House session
• Most of the beneficiaries will be Panahi Qadeem (migrants from Pak)