Land pooling scheme in Mohali evokes poor response

Even after GMADA extended the last date by a month,landowners of only 15 per cent of over 771 acres have opted for the scheme.

Till last week,when the extended deadline expired,landowners of around 120 acres agreed to LPS,GMADA Chief Administrator (CA) Vivek Partap Singh said.

Under the scheme,landowners would get two developed plots in the upcoming estate in return of their land — cash compensation amounts to a record Rs 1.5 per acre.

The LPS,which was approved by the Punjab Council of Ministers on August 21,2008,for future land acquisitions in the state,offers a 968 square yards residential and 121 square yards commercial plot against each acre of the acquired land — GMADA would keep an equal share in addition to an institutional plot of 242 square yards.

Further,GMADA would pay rent to landowners for their acquired land till the developed plots are handed over to them. The rent rate would be fixed by the Deputy Commissioner.

Also,the plots allotted under LPS would be exempted from the stamp duty charged for the registration of plots,and the time given to construct on these plots would be five years instead of the usual three years.

But despite these incentives,the land pooling scheme did not interest a huge majority of farmers.

Farmers allege the original scheme has been “tampered with”. GMADA officials,on the other hand,cite high cash compensation and the time involved in handing over the developed plots as reason for the poor response.

“Now,GMADA has included parking area in the plots offered under LPS. No such provision existed in the official notification of LPS,” D P S Baidwan,convener of the Kissan Hit Bachao Committee,said.

But the Additional Chief Administrator (ACA) of GMADA said the farmers were interested in the huge cash compensation.

“Farmers want to make quick money and buy land elsewhere at much lesser price,instead of waiting for over two years we have sought to hand over the developed plots,” ACA Balwinder Singh Multani said.

Multani claimed that those not opting for LPS would repent when prices of the developed plots would skyrocket and go higher than the cash compensation.