Amritsar, November 23
Members of the Jamhoori Kisan Sabha have said they would oppose the Panchayat Department’s move to reclaim lands, previously falling under categories of ‘Shamlat Deh’ and ‘Jumla Mushtarka Malki’, control of which has now been entrusted with the panchayats by amending rules.
Jamhoori Kisan Sabha president Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala said the state government had recently amended the Punjab Village Common Land Regulations and given the control of all such lands to panchayats.
He said the settlers on these lands had been tilling these since the Independence and it was unjustified to displace them now. The government is taking their only source of livelihood, he said.
He said farmer unions were in support of the settlers, who fear eviction, and the government would not be allowed to take these lands. He said village-level committees will oppose any forceful move by the state government to reclaim these had been constituted in the entire border belt.
