HC stays consolidation of land in Kot village

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) has stayed the consolidation of agricultural holdings in Faridabad’s Kot village. The Haryana revenue department had on November 11, 2021, decided to carry out consolidation of holdings in Faridabad’s Kot revenue estate (Badhkal tehsil) for an area of about 5,095 bighas. Consolidation of agricultural holdings means amalgamation, rearrangement and redistribution of land parcels in a revenue estate in such a way that agricultural holdings are more compact. Kesar Singh, the sarpanch of Kot village, had petitioned the HC, contending that the state government’s attempt to initiate consolidation for Kot village was in clear violation of the Forest Conservation Act and Supreme Court orders. The petitioner said that majority of the area of the village formed part of Aravallis hills and is forest land. A HC bench of justice Sureshwar Thakur and justice Kuldeep Tiwari, while issuing a notice of motion on April 24, ordered that the operation of November 11, 2021, notification shall remain stayed till further orders. The matter has been listed for August 1. The petitioner said the government is preparing the consolidation scheme at the behest of private companies who have purchased Gair Mumkin Pahar and want to take the prime land of the villages through consolidation of holdings. Citing a list attached to the petition, the petitioner said that it is clear that influential companies have purchased the land and it is at their behest that repeated notifications for consolidation is being issued so that their purchase of legalised. The petitioner said that director general, consolidation of holdings, had on three occasions withdrawn the notification on account of it being defective but the state government issued the November 2021 notification with malafide intention to benefit private companies. The revenue department, while ordering consolidation of holdings in Kot revenue estate for an area of about 5,095 bighas, said both the processes of consolidation of land holdings and kilabandi shall be carried out simultaneously. The November 2021 order said that kilabandi under consolidation proceedings shall be done only of land of private owners measuring about 728 bighas. It further said there shall be no kilabandi under consolidation of shamilat taraf kot and shamilat taraf kharkhara due to pendency of a court case. “There shall be conversion of unit of khasra numbers from bigha, biswa, biswansi to kanal and marla so as to bring the entire revenue estate, measuring about 5,095 bighas, into standard unit of area as kanal and marla,” the order said. The revenue department’s order said that Gair Mumkin tilla, Gair Mumkin Nala and Gair Mumkin Pahar in the lands of private owners shall be kept in its original shape and only new khasra numbers shall