Owners of houses on revenue land to get ownership of plots

NAGPUR: Owners of houses built on government land given to them either through lease or rehabilitation will be given ownership of the land after they pay a particular amount to the government, revenue minister Eknath Khadse announced in the state assembly on Monday. This will benefit residents of buildings on leasehold plots as well as Sindhi and Punjabi refugees from Pakistan who were given land or houses in Sion Koliwada, Mulund, Ulhasnagar and other places in the state.

In reply to a debate on supplementary demands, Khadse said government will be changing the category of B class land to A class in cases such as encroachment in rural areas, leasehold plots and refugee housing.

This means occupants of houses on such land will be given the option of ownership. They will have to pay a particular sum to the government, which will be based on the ready reckoner. The decision would also help flat owners on leasehold plots in Mumbai.

Khadse said Sindhi refugee families who were rehabilitated by the government at Ulhasnagar and other places in the state will have the option of buying ownership of land under their buildings after paying 50% of the value of their houses.

On the demand of Mulund MLA Saradar Tarasingh, Khadse said the benefit would be given to Punjabi residents at Sion-koliwada, Mulund Colony and other places.