Chandigarh, March 23 Punjab Minister Harjot Singh Bains said on Monday that the government will soon grant ownership rights to shopkeepers, residents, and other occupants of surplus land in Nangal, Talwara, and adjoining townships, asserting that the land belongs to the state and not to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
This move will end decades of uncertainty for thousands of families, Bains said in a statement.
"Our elders gave their land and worked with their hands so that a newly independent India could get water and electricity. They also built this town. Yet, for over 50 years, the Bhakra Beas Management Board, which was only meant to operate its project, began acting like a landlord, harassing the very people who built it," he said.
The water resources department has served formal notices to the BBMB, making it clear that over 800 acres of surplus land is the property of Punjab, he said.
"The BBMB has no authority to frame a lease policy for such properties. The land was acquired from our people for the dam projects. Now that the projects have been completed, the surplus land must return to the state and ultimately to the people who have lived on it for generations," the minister added.
The state government is framing a comprehensive policy under the supervision of the water resources department to grant ownership rights to existing occupants, said Bains.
"All eligible shopkeepers, families, and residents will be given rightful ownership. They will have to deposit only the legitimate charges as per the stamp duty. No one will be left in uncertainty," he said.