BJP urges Punjab govt to scrap PLPA

Chandigarh, July 14 (UNI) Senior leaders of the SAD-BJP including ministers and MLAs from the Kandi belt bordering Himachal Pradesh have urged the Punjab government to scrap the Punjab Land Preservation Act 1900 (PLPA).

Appreciating the stand taken by present state government on this issue till now, former state BJP chief Avinash Rai Khanna while addressing a seminar on the PLPA here today appreciated Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for swiftly taking upon the Advocate General's opinion favouring scrapping of PLPA and forwarding the same for speedy disposal. The seminar unanimously decided to lead a delegation of representatives from Kandi belt to reinforce the demand in front of the Chief Minister to scrap the century old act.

The CM had already forwarded the AG office's opinion for scrapping PLPA to the concerned officials for final disposal.

The seminar held at ICSSR here complex was also attended by a number of 'panchs' and 'sarpanchs' of the Kandi belt.

The seminar deliberated upon the hardships being faced by residents of 617 affected Kandi villages due to this age old act which prevented them from tilling large tracts of preserved land.

The seminar considered at length the situation arising out of legal opinion given by Hardev Singh Mattewal, Advocate General favouring the long standing demand of Mr Khanna and other leaders who had been actively leading the movement against the PLPA for quite some time. While most of the leaders appreciated the view taken by the Chief Minister acting upon Advocate General's advice on this highly contentious issue, MLAs and leaders including Chaudhary Nand Lal, Chief Parliamentary Secretary felt that the process for scrapping the PLPA has already begun as the Chief Minister was pro actively working in this direction and had already forwarded the requisite proposal to the concerened administrative department.

Addressing the media after the seminar, Mr Khanna said that the PLPA, constituted in 1900 was meant for checking soil erosion in the Kandi area. However, with over 68 check dams in the area to prevent soil erosion the act had now become redundant. Unfortunately the district collectors had never exercised their due authority to survey and denotify the act, he added.

UNI