The Punjab Cabinet on Friday approved implementation of mission ‘Lal Lakir’ aimed at facilitating villagers to monetise property rights and availing benefits provided by government departments, institutions and banks in all villages across the state.
As no record of rights is available for such properties within the ‘Lal Lakir’, the same cannot currently be monetised as per real value of the property and no mortgages can be created on such properties.
There are households within the ‘Lal Lakir’, which do not own property other than the areas within the ‘Lal Lakir’, and are thus at a disadvantage when it comes to monetising or realising the real value of the property, according to a government statement. ‘Lal Lakir’ refers to land that is part of the village ‘abaadi’ (habitation) and is used for non-agriculture purposes only.
Under the mission, the right of record of properties within ‘Lal Lakir’ in the villages of the state will be prepared with the cooperation of the government of India under the SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme. This will enable mapping the land, households, habitation and all other areas falling within ‘Lal Lakir’. It will go a long way in improving the living standard of villagers and boosting their self-esteem, the statement said.
Issues arising out of rights relating to these properties would now be dealt with through a litigation being drafted specially for these Lal Lakir properties.
The common lands within ‘Lal Lakir’, such as ponds, common gathering areas and even passages and streets, which were facing encroachments due to non-availability/creation of record to maintain these assets, will now be protected under the mission, it said.
In another decision, the cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh here, also gave approval to ‘The Punjab (Welfare and Settlement of Landless, Marginal and Small Occupant Farmers) Allotment of State Government Land Rules, 2021’ in order to make allotment of encroached lands to unauthorised small and marginal farmers on the basis of a rational criteria by sale of land at a predetermined price.
This would ensure a fair balance for the occupants who have been in possession since long, and for the government to get its due revenue in respect of the unauthorised occupation of government lands and also settle unnecessary long pending litigation, it said.
The cabinet also approved restructuring of five more departments in line with the government’s decision to generate jobs across departments and enhance functional efficiency through optimum utilisation of manpower.
The decision will lead to the creation of 1,875 new posts, with 3,720 existing ones, which had become defunct or irrelevant, to be surrendered. Meanwhile, a Bill for establishment of a private self-financed Amity University for enactment will be tabled in the forthcoming budget session.
The ordinance for setting up of the university could not be promulgated earlier due to the imposition of the model code of conduct for the civic polls, thus necessitating the legislation of a Bill to be approved by the House, according to the statement.
Approved under the ‘Punjab Private University Policy-2010’, the university will come up over an area of 40.44 acre with an investment of ₹ 664.32 crore over five years. It will have an annual intake of 1,500-2,000 students, it said.
