PUDA loses land ownership, 400 Faridkot allottees in lurch

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, August 25

With Sugarfed Punjab getting back ownership of 135 acres, on which a residential and commercial complex was to come up here, more than 400 allottees are running from pillar to post to get possession of plots.

The PUDA authorities said the delay in giving possession was because of some technical reasons. But for PUDA’s incapacity to clear Rs 45-crore liabilities of Punjab Sugarfed, the state government transferred the ownership of the land back to Sugarfed, sources said.

In complaints filed in local courts and District Consumer Forums, the allottees said that at the time of making allotment in December 2013, PUDA had committed to hand over the possession of property to them by June 20, 2015.

Now, with the change of ownership, they had lost hope of getting the possession, the allottees said.

The land, embroiled in controversy, belonged to the cooperative sugar mill (now closed) in Faridkot. In January 2013, the state government had decided to hand over 135 acres of prime land, situated on the Kotkapura-Faridkot road, to PUDA. In June 2013, it had invited applications for plots.

A few days after selling plots, PUDA learnt the ownership of land could not be transferred in its name as there were several financial encumbrances. In several cases, courts had attached land because the state government had failed to pay farmers for their land acquired in 1988.

In October 2015, land was transferred in PUDA’s name. But five months later, the transfer of ownership was cancelled and land was re-mutated in the name of Sugarfed Punjab.

PUDA claimed Rs 29 crore was deposited in the Faridkot treasury to clear all pending encumbrances related to land. Still, there are pending financial encumbrances of more than Rs 45 crore.

Several farmers are demanding their land back. “In 25 years, the state government could not pay us Rs 25 per square yard for our land. Now, PUDA is selling land for Rs 10,000 per square yard,” farmers wrote to the Financial Commissioner, Revenue.