CM asks L-G to clear 2012 plan on land ownership

Says families allotted land under 20-Point Programme were facing hardships

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has asked Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal to approve a proposal, which was cleared by the Sheila Dikshit Cabinet in 2012, to grant ownership rights to those allotted land under the Centre’s 20-Point Programme in the 1970s and 1980s.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Wednesday that Mr. Kejriwal had written to the L-G asking him to approve the proposal, which then-Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna had referred to the President.

In the letter sent on Tuesday, Mr. Kejriwal wrote that thousands of families who had been allotted agricultural land in Mehrauli, Najafgarh, Kanjhawala, Narela and Alipur under the 20 Point Programme were “facing hardships”.

‘Eradicating poverty’

“The basic objective of these allocations was to eradicate poverty and improve the quality of life of the poor and the under-privileged sections of the rural community,” the letter said.

The Chief Minister said that beneficiaries of the same scheme for the landless poor in other States had been given ownership rights. “I have been informed that those who are still in possession of the allotted land and are carrying out agricultural activities, as per the allotment conditions, have a statutory right to the grant of

bhoomidhari (ownership) rights over such parcels of land,” he said.

He added that the Delhi government had already approved the grant of ownership rights. As per a decision taken by the Sheila Dikshit Cabinet in May 2012, the original allottees or their legal heirs who are still using the land for agriculture would be given ownership rights.

‘Difference of opinion’

Mr. Kejriwal’s letter said that the then-L-G had a “difference of opinion” and had referred the matter to the President, where the issue has been pending since. Since land is a reserved subject in Delhi and the L-G has authority over it, Mr. Kejriwal asked Mr. Baijal to either withdraw the reference from the President and approve the proposal, or ask the Centre and the President to approve it.