Shimla: State Secretariat of Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly flays the decision of Himachal Pradesh Government to give prime land to society of Members of Legislative Assembly. Government in the recent cabinet has taken decision to give additional 36 bighas of prime land at Jubbadhatti, the place where new expansion of Shimla City is taking place in future to this society. Keeping in view the commercial prospects of this area, State government want to appease MLAs and Former MLAs of both Congress Party and BJP who are members of the society.
State Government has already given 12 Bighas 16 Biswas of prime land to this society in Heera Nagar and Panthaghati. Where some of these members have constructed houses and most of these house are rented and getting hefty amount as rent. Almost all the sitting and Former MLAs have their own houses and these are built by getting cheap loans facilitated by the government.
MLAs, Ex-MLAs alloted land for housing project near Shimla Airport
It’s evident that about 85 percent land is still owned by the government. Moreover 87 percent of the total population in Himachal Pradesh lives in rural area and most of them are small and marginal farmers having land less than a hectare. This much land is not sufficient even to meet their both the ends. According to Socio-Economic and Caste census done by the Government of India in 2011 about 22 percent has no land in rural areas of Himachal Pradesh. Instead of distributing public land to poor and needy people of state the law makers are grabing precious land again and again.
Both Congress and BJP Governments had been promising that houseless in rural areas will get 3 biswas and in urban areas will get 2 biswas of land but both the parties are not interested to keep their promises given to poor people of the state. More than 5000 houseless families have applied to get land in this scheme but government is not doing anything to help these people.
It’s very strange that both Congress and BJP are in common understanding to grab land in the name of society formed by Legislatures. Party Presidents and MLAs of both partie Congress and BJP are members of this society. Now Congress government in the state has taken decision to give additional land to this society and BJP members are also beneficiaries. But keeping elections in view BJP leaders are making hue and cry that land should not be given but they are also part of this beneficiary society also. If they are really sincere they should return land already taken as society members to the government to come clean.
CPIM strongly demand that government should reverse this decision to give land to MLAs and Former MLAs society. Government should perform its duty and give land to poor houseless and landless people of the State. If not done Party will launch an agitation against the government by organising the people of the State.
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Its outrageous, but not surprising. I wish someone would challenge it in court. Govt. cannot cherry pick the beneficiaries of its largesse, that too when public resources are involved, which land certainly is. In the first place there has to be a proper land allotment policy for housing societies, which lays out categories of people who can be covered, eligibility conditions, area to be allotted, price etc. ( somewhat like what DDA has in Delhi). As far as I know the HP govt. has no such policy in place. In the absence of one, giving land arbitrarily to chosen categories of people such as associations of IAS officers, journalists and MLAs and not to others amounts to unfair discrimination and violates the right to equality ( Art. 21). The govt.had tried this earlier too in 2009, and had identified a big chunk of land near Ghanahatti for the purpose. I was ACS ( Forests) then. Fortunately the selected land was forest land and I refused to divert it for a non- forestry purpose, deriving my confidence from various Supreme Court rulings. The matter was dropped, and so was I ! I wonder if the present land is also forest land ?
Its outrageous, but not surprising. I wish someone would challenge it in court. Govt. cannot cherry pick the beneficiaries of its largesse, that too when public resources are involved, which land certainly is. In the first place there has to be a proper land allotment policy for housing societies, which lays out categories of people who can be covered, eligibility conditions, area to be allotted, price etc. ( somewhat like what DDA has in Delhi). As far as I know the HP govt. has no such policy in place. In the absence of one, giving land arbitrarily to chosen categories of people such as associations of IAS officers, journalists and MLAs and not to others amounts to unfair discrimination and violates the right to equality ( Art. 21). The govt.had tried this earlier too in 2009, and had identified a big chunk of land near Ghanahatti for the purpose. I was ACS ( Forests) then. Fortunately the selected land was forest land and I refused to divert it for a non- forestry purpose, deriving my confidence from various Supreme Court rulings. The matter was dropped, and so was I ! I wonder if the present land is also forest land ?