Transfer of Kharar village’s land: Former minister says cancellation of resolution ‘not enough’, demands vigilance probe

“Even though the government has now cancelled this resolution, it clearly proves that something wrong was happening in this case right from the beginning. The fact that first the Gram Panchayat passed the resolution, and immediately after, the Municipal Council passed it as well, raises serious questions,” Sidhu said.

Raising questions over the whole process, the former health minister said that on the one hand, Bhagwant Mann’s Punjab government never tires of claiming that it has freed hundreds of acres of panchayat land from illegal encroachments, but on the other hand, lower-level officials are conspiring to commit scams in panchayat land matters. He said it appears as if there is no functioning government in Punjab, otherwise lower-level officials would not dare to indulge in such fraud. He stressed that it is absolutely essential to put a strict check on this.

Sidhu pointed out that during his party’s government in 2021, the entire Gram Sabha had unanimously passed a resolution stating that the land of Daun village would not be given to anyone. “Then why,” he asked, “were such hasty steps taken now?”

He alleged that this resolution involves corruption worth crores of rupees. “Merely cancelling the resolution is not enough. If the Mann government claims to be honest, then it must conduct a high-level inquiry, bring forward the leaders who conspired behind the scenes, and take strict action against all those responsible. If the government truly believes in transparency, the inquiry should not only be conducted by the Vigilance Department but also by an independent agency, so that the truth comes out and the guilty are punished.”

Sidhu also said that the voters of Daun village and several social organisations condemned the Gram Panchayat and Khara­r civic body for passing the land in favour of the builder without taking the consent of the people. They even held a protest outside the Khara­r Council, yet the council went ahead and passed the resolution.

He alleged that in this entire case, from the Gram Panchayat to the Khara­r Municipal Council, there seems to be collusion between officials and political forces. It is also being alleged that the land transfer was carried out forcibly to benefit the builder’s project.

“Now the question is how the Punjab government deals with this case. Will it simply end the matter by cancelling the resolution, or will the Mann ensure a fair and impartial inquiry as demanded,” he concluded.