New Delhi

Singhal’s assurance to Assembly on farmers’ issue

NEW DELHI: Industries Minister Mangat Ram Singhal has informed the Delhi Assembly that a total of 8,455 applications by farmers for alternative plots against acquisition of their land are pending with the Land and Building Department.

He assured the House that all the pending cases would be cleared within six months.

Replying to a question by Nationalist Congress Party MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, the Industries Minister said 29,782 farmers had applied for alternative plots against compensation and of these 21,327 applications had been disposed of.

Among the remaining 8,455, at least 1,922 applications had come to the Department in 2000 or earlier. There were 84 pending applications of 2001; 115 applications of 2002; 1,344 of 2003; 279 of 2004; 1,429 of 2005; 2,262 of 2006 and 1,020 applications pending in 2007.

Mr. Singhal said notices would be sent to the farmers whose applications were pending so that they get a chance to furnish all the required documents following which their applications would be cleared.

However, Mr. Bidhuri pointed out that when the records of land acquisition and compensation paid to the farmers were already with the agency concerned, what more documents did the Government need from the farmers when all they had to do was to clear the recommendation.

“All the Government has to do is to send recommendations and the land acquiring agency has all the information. Why should there be a delay then?” asked Mr. Bidhuri.

The Industries Minister agreed that the Land and Building Department had been slow in disposing of the applications for alternative plots but said there were some documents which the applicants needed to furnish.

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