Encroachers will pay additional penalty for land allotment: CM Pema Khandu

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday informed that the State Cabinet has decided to impose 50 per cent penalty in addition to the existing land premium rate for those who have constructed private houses in encroached government land.

He said, for getting land allotment of the encroached government land, the person has to pay additional penalty amount of Rs 500 besides existing amount of Rs 1000 per sq metre of land he encroached.

Participating in a short duration discussion on a query raised by NPP legislature party leader Mutchu Mithi pertaining to the high land premium rate prescribed by the Government for land possession in the State, Khandu informed that during 2018, the Cabinet had enhanced the rates of premium which was very less earlier with the rate of meager Rs 12 per sq metre.

“A Cabinet sub-committee constituted on November 14, 2017 with the then Land Management Minister as its Chairman, made a detailed study and forwarded its recommendation to the Government for enhancement of land premium rate,” the chief Minister said.

Khandu added that the State government had divided the land in five zones and accordingly fixed the premiums with maximum Rs 1000 and minimum Rs 100.

“The respective Deputy Commissioners of all the districts were entrusted with the job to classify the land in their jurisdiction in prescribed zones. However, there were discrepancies in classification of land in the districts for which a few district have to pay more premium in comparison to the State capital,” the Chief Minister added.

Khandu, however, said that the Government would write to the DCs to re-visit the classification of land done and to submit a fresh report to the government.

Earlier, Mithi and most of the participating members termed the Land laws as ‘defective’ and urged the government to reframe the laws and reduce the land premium rates while maintaining uniformity.

Mithi also pointed out that if a person possessing a plot of land after paying required premium wants to transfer it to his successor, then he would again have to pay fresh premium for the same plot of land.

Khandu, however, assured that the Government would soon issue a clear-cut order not to charge any fresh premium on inherited land. He added that the land premium rate is applicable to only government land given on lease to private parties but not for community land or ancestral land properties.

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