Indian Punjab to buy land along Pak-India border

CHANDIGARH: An 11 feet wide path running along the 540kms long Indian border with Pakistan will be acquired by the Punjab government following a central government directive that aims to check intrusion and cross-border smuggling. The issue has been hanging fire since independence.
The Home Ministry last week gave a green signal to the Parkash Singh Badal government in the State by passing a requisition to acquire the land, which is over 400 acres.The Centre’s nod will allow smoother patrolling by the Border Security Force (BSF) and other agencies that often have to deal with interference from landowners. The Punjab government received the ministry’s letter on January 20. The land had not been acquired so far because of a dispute between the Centre and the State.
The move is not only seen mitigating the problems of farmers — who have had to cede some of their land for patrolling and also face farming restrictions — but also giving political mileage to the BJP, which partners the Shiromani Akali Dalin the coalition government in the State. Recent reports have hinted at a rift between the two parties.
In view of the problems that farming near the border entails, the affected landowners had petitioned the Punjab and Haryana High Court asking the government to acquire the land as the restrictions imposed by the security forces had rendered it virtually “useless”.
In 2008, Punjab’s chief minister had written to the Centre requesting acquisition of the land to “mitigate” the problems faced by landowners. When the petition had come up for hearing on January 19, Assistant Solicitor General of India, senior lawyer Chetan Mittal, had sought time to seek instructions from the Home Ministry. The very next day, the ministry shot off a letter to the Punjab government to acquire the land.
The ministry has asked Punjab to initiate “necessary land acquisition process as per applicable laws and convey the final award for necessary payments by this ministry”.Despite giving a “no objection” certificate, the former regime at the Centre had not initiated the acquisition process.
When the matter came up for hearing on Wednesday, the court directed the Punjab government to give a timeframe for issuance of the notifications and the disbursement, which is now done to the owners instead of cultivators.In an affidavit, the BSF has pointed out that patrolling along the 11 feet wide tract and its acquisition has become necessary.