Fatehgarh Sahib (District Map)
Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab (November 25, 2013): According to certain media reports over 30 per cent of the panchayat land in the Fatehgarh Sahib district has been encroached upon. The District Development and Panchayat Office (DDPO) has been fighting legal battles for the past two decades to reclaim the land.
According to The Tribune (TT): “[o]f the 10,837 acres of panchayat land, more than 2,950 acres have allegedly been grabbed by influential persons. The remaining 8,192 acres have been leased out in various villages in Amloh, Sirhind, Khera, Bassi Pathana and Khamano blocks of the district”.
As many as 36 cases with regard to 193 acres of panchayat land have been pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court while another case pertaining to 19 acres has been pending in the Supreme Court of India.
District Development and Panchayat Officer Jagwinderjit Singh said the department was striving hard to free the village land from illegal possession.