GAFFE PWD built a sevenkilometre metalled road on a part of this land adjacent to the alignment of the waterway Road construction on ‘denotified’ canal land triggers controversy
It’s a case of right hand not knowing what the left does. In September 2017, the council of ministers in Haryana approved the denotification of 1,019 acres acquired for DadupurNalvi Irrigation Scheme, but the state government till date has not issued a formal notification to return the land to the farmers in the absence of a legal provision to denotify it.
To add to its list of gaffes, the Haryana public works department has constructed a sevenkilometre metalled road on a part of this land adjacent to the alignment of the waterway. The development has already triggered controversy as once it is denotified, the land will have to be returned to the farmers.
The seven kilometre stretch spread over 38 acres was inaugurated by Haryana assembly speaker Kanwar Pal earlier this week to link Chhachhrauli road with Ambala road on the outskirt of Jagadhri town. The stretch is used as a detour to divert heavy vehicles from city roads.
When contacted, Sanjeev Dutt Sharma, superintending engineer, Haryana irrigation department, Jagadhri, said, “Once the land gets denotified, the farmers will become the owners of the entire chunk acquired for the Dadupur-Nalvi irrigation scheme. I am not aware how the road was constructed on the land acquired for the canal,” Sharma said, expressing his helplessness to clarify.
On whether the irrigation department had given any right to the public works department for the road’s construction, Sharma said he did not give a no objection certificate (NOC) or permission for the construction of the road. “I don’t know who gave the NOC,” he said.
A public works official, on the contrary, said they were provided an NOC by the irrigation department. The official said that if the land was denotified, the government could pay compensation to the farmers for the land taken for the road as per the norms.
Nihal Singh, superintending engineer, PWD (B&R), Chandigarh Circle, said, “We have taken the NOC from the irrigation department. We did not construct the road without permission from the owner of the land. Two more such proposals are pending with the department and we are waiting for the NOCs,’’ Singh said. Farmers, however seem to be happy with the development. “Now that they have constructed a road on the land, after the government denotifies it, we will become the owners of the land,” said farmer Kashmir Singh Dhillon, whose about three acres were taken for the road.
The foundation stone of the road was laid by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on September 29, 2016 and the PWD officials said that NOC was granted in February 2016.
LAND YET TO BE DENOTIFIED
The state government is, in fact, waiting for an amendment passed by the state assembly in the right to fair compensation and transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, to get the President’s assent, thereby becoming a law, for issuing the notification to denotify the land.
As of today, the land vests with the state government.
Officials said the council of ministers apparently did a rush job on the basis of a weak piece of advice from Haryana advocate general BR Mahajan.
The advocate general, in his advice, had said, “The best course of action for the state government now would be to issue forthwith a notification under section 101 of the right to fair compensation and transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, for denotifying/withdrawing the notification to acquire land under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 .... ”.
Section 101, pertaining to return of unutilised land, says that when any land acquired under this act remains unutilised for a period of five years from the date of taking over the possession, the same shall be returned to the original owner or owners or their legal heirs, as the case may be, or to the land bank of the appropriate government by reversion in the manner as may be prescribed by the appropriate government.
Meanwhile, legal experts said that section 101 would not apply in case of Dadupur-Nalvi land as it is not an unutilised land. The provision clearly pertained to land acquired only under the 2013 land acquisition law. The five year period also does not apply to Dadupur-Nalvi land since acquisition was partly done in 1987 and after 2005.
Hindustan Times was the first to report the anomaly in the cabinet decision.
I am not aware how the road was constructed on the land acquired for the canal. I don’t know who gave the NOC for it. SANJEEV DUTT SHARMA, superintending engineer, Haryana irrigation department, Jagadhri