??|?? September 9, 2012 ?? 09:23am ??|
CHANDIGARH: Haryana?s land consolidation law, which was meant to help farmers pool their resources, has actually been a godsend for several realty firms in the state.
But a recent Punjab and Haryana high court order quashing the land allotments to 20 real estate firms and individuals for violating the rules has come as a shock to the land sharks. The builders had obtained around 24 acres of prime panchyat land worth crores in villages surrounding Gurgaon by exchanging their plots located in different areas of the village. The firms, in connivance with the revenue department officials, had violated laws at will to get realty at prime locations.
Documents accessed by TOI reveal how the land was purchased by companies in the villages just a few years ago and was exchanged for chunks of panchayat land, which was located at Gawal Pahari, Behrampur, Bandhwari, Balola, Ulhawas, Ghata and Badshahpur villages which are close to Delhi and had the potential to site farm houses and other business establishments.
The HC on September 6 quashed the land allotments in these villages (now Sectors 58 to 63 and 65 to 67 of Gurgaon). The 24-acre panchayat land was given to the builders between 2008 and 2009 by the department of consolidation of holdings in violation of the law. Land consolidation is the process of merging framers? land scattered in different locations in the same village to help them make optimum utilisation of the resources. Around 95% of the land consolidation process has already been completed in Haryana.
According to rules, if any villager has objections to the consolidation process, an appeal can be filed within six months of completion of the exercise. As far as the 20 realty firms? land is concerned, the process of consolidation was completed between 1957 and 2001. And the applications for exchange of land were moved in 2008 and 2009 and just a few days later, the officials allotted the panchayat land to the companies. ?The beneficiaries had purchased the land well after the process of consolidation and hence were not entitled to any relief,? said an official quoting the records which indicate that the land was purchased between 2005 and 2009 in many cases.
In one case at Behrampur village, land consolidation was completed in 1964-65. The plot belonging to a company, Marigold Mercantile Private Limited, was mutated (an exercise to transfer ownership in record) on June 3, 2008. On July 2, 2009, the company filed a case with the then director (consolidation) for exchange of its land with the panchayat land which was allowed within days.
In a letter to the government on July 25, Ashok Khemka, present director general of consolidation of land holdings, stated that these orders were passed under Section 42 of the Consolidation Act with the directors themselves accepting the applications straight from the firms. However, Section 42 is meant for review of exchange of land cleared by junior officers. It means that such applications can be filed only against the orders of junior officers, which was not the case in these matters.
Exposing further holes, the official said, ?the utilization or disposal of panchayat land is for the benefit of the inhabitants of the village. But in these cases, most of the transfers are in favour of private companies.?
According to the rules, any land belonging to a non-inhabitant of the village cannot be exchanged with the panchayat land. ?It is feared that there may be several such cases. The divisional commissioners may be directed to dig out all such orders made under Section 42 of the Consolidation Act in the past, thereby exchanging panchayat land with the land of private parties without the specific approval of the state government,? Khemka added in the letter to the government recommending ?registration of criminal case and probe by an agency like CBI since the involvement of higher-ups cannot be ruled out?.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/HC-order-blow-to-builders-misusing-consolidation-laws/articleshow/16317329.cms
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