Chandigarh, October 29: Congress leader and MLA Padmashree Pargat Singh has urged the Punjab government to revive the land ownership policy formulated during the previous Congress regime, which proposed granting ownership rights to individuals living on government land for more than 12 years.
He said the policy was meant to provide stability to long-term residents and prevent large-scale evictions. “The Congress government had finalized the framework to give ownership in exchange for a small sum, but the policy was not pursued by the present government,” Pargat said.
The senior leader noted that several communities in Punjab, including those in Jalandhar’s Ambedkar Nagar, have lived on such land for decades and deserve legal recognition of their homes. He added that this approach would ensure social justice and help prevent repeated eviction disputes.
Pargat Singh reiterated his call to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to personally intervene in the issue, stressing that governance should focus on humane and practical solutions. “We do not endorse encroachment, but when people have lived for generations and contributed to their neighbourhoods, they deserve compassion and regularization,” he said.
