Over 1,000 acres of panchayat land has been freed from encroachment in the last 12 days, Punjab Rural Development minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said on Thursday.
The rural development department had launched a drive to remove encroachments on panchayat lands last month.
The department got 1,008 acres of panchayat land freed from encroachment in the last 12 days, Mr Dhaliwal said.
"Under this special drive, encroachments from the land worth Rs 302 crore have been removed so far by the department," said the minister in a statement He said many people are coming forward to vacate their possession from panchayat land.
He said, "Today, people of village Chhaleri Kalan in Fatehgarh Sahib district voluntarily vacated the illegal occupation of 417 acres of panchayat land." Mr Dhaliwal added that the state government would set up a government veterinary hospital in the village.
Similarly, in Doaba region, a potato grower has voluntarily handed over 35 acres of land, which he illegally occupied for many years, the minister said.
The minister said a special number will be issued by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on which information about encroachments on government lands could be shared.
The department has also set up a special cell to get rid of encroachments from panchayat lands.
The cell will compile data on encroachments, examine legal aspects and submit a report on removal of encroachments on panchayat lands.
On Wednesday, CM Mann had said people who are illegally occupying government or panchayat land would face action if they do not surrender it to the authorities by the end of the month.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
