1,000 ACRES OF PANCHAYAT LAND FREED IN 12 DAYS, SAYS MINISTER

MOHALI: The government has freed 1,008 acres of illegally acquired panchayat land from encroachers in the past 12 days under a special drive, said minister for rural development and panchayats Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal.

The minister said the value of land freed from encroachers is estimated at ₹302 crore.

Dhaliwal said that following an appeal by chief minister Bhagwant Mann, people voluntarily come forward to relinquish the panchayat land.

The department is rewarding such persons, he added. People of Chhaleri Kalan village in Fatehgarh Sahib district have voluntarily given up 417 acres of panchayat land, where the state government will build a veterinary hospital, the minister said. Similarly, in Doaba, a potato grower has voluntarily handed over 35 acres of land, which he illegally occupied for years.