Haryana govt gives assurance to farmers on their various demands

We have been demanding that those cultivating the land for generations should be given ownership rights, on this we got an assurance from the government they were contemplating of bringing a law in the Vidhan Sabha.Koth said the government sought time saying there were many legal hurdles involved and farmers agreed to give them time.Our talks have been positive, he said.Replying to a question, Kundu said the farmers put other issues also before the CM and added we had a detailed meeting.

The Haryana government on Monday told a farmers' delegation it was contemplating to find a solution ''within the legal framework'' to their demand pertaining to the common land (Shamlat Deh) in the wake of a Supreme Court judgment on the issue earlier this year.

The government's assurance to the delegation comprising members of various farmer outfits came Monday evening during their meeting with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar here. The farmers have been demanding the government convene a special session to amend the land Act keeping in view the apex court's judgment in April this year.

'Shamlat deh' refers to village land reserved and used for common purposes.

Other demands put forth by the farmers included those pertaining to crop damage compensation and water-logging.

A number of farmers staged a protest along the Panchkula-Chandigarh border on Monday over their various demands including the one pertaining to the shamlat deh land. Later, they were invited for talks by the government.

The protesters were demanding ownership rights of the shamlat land to those who have been occupying it for past many decades.

In April, the Supreme Court had held that in respect to the land taken from the proprietors from their permissible ceiling limits under a Punjab law, only the management and control would vest with the panchayat and not the title.

A Supreme Court bench had passed the verdict on a batch of appeals against the full bench verdict of Punjab and Haryana High Court which examined the legality of sub-section 6 of Section 2(g) of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961.

Talking to reporters after the meeting of the farmers' delegation with the chief minister, Haryana's Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) V S Kundu said shamlat deh land issue is a very complex one and pointed out that several acts have been introduced on this issue in the past.

Referring to the farmers' demand on Shamlat Deh issue, Kundu said, ''within legal framework, while abiding by the Supreme Court orders, how we can give relief to the farmers is being contemplated''.

Farmer leader Suresh Koth, who along with other senior farmer leader Dr Darshan Pal took part in the meeting, said the main issue was related to the Shamlat Deh. He said the chief minister was apprised that three generations have been cultivating the land and it won't be fair if they have to vacate it now.

''The government has agreed to stop action on a letter issued on August 18 under which it had asked to vacate the land parcels. We have been demanding that those cultivating the land for generations should be given ownership rights, on this we got an assurance from the government they were contemplating of bringing a law in the Vidhan Sabha''.

Koth said the government sought time saying there were many legal hurdles involved and farmers agreed to give them time.

''Our talks have been positive,'' he said.

Replying to a question, Kundu said the farmers put other issues also before the CM and added ''we had a detailed meeting''. ''The government is considering their demands and trying to find a solution to these,'' he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)