04-05-2025
3 decades on, land acquired for tourist complex lies abandoned in Pinjore
Panchkula: Thirty have passed since the
Haryana tourism department
acquired 46 bigha 5 biswa of land from farmers in
Kajiyana village
of Pinjore to make a "new tourist complex." However, the land continues to lie abandoned to this day.
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Although the then chief minister, late Chaudhary Bhajan Lal, laid the foundation stone for the tourist complex on Feb 22, 1996, the successive goverments and state tourism department failed to make any plans to construct the centre.
During the land acquisition process, it was promised that local youth would be provided with employment opportunities. However, with the change in governments, the project was put on the backburner and seemed to have been forgotten.
As per the tourism department records, a notification under a section of the Land Acquisition Act was issued by the govt on February 14, 1995, and under section 6 on July 24, 1995, respectively. A sum of Rs 23,28,585 was paid to the landowners as compensation in February 1996. Following this, the physical possession of the land was taken in 1998 by the tourism department. The land at present is covered by a boundary wall with an old, rugged Haryana tourism display board visible.
The place has wild grass growth and is in a very bad condition.
After a delay of many years, the tourism department in 2015 had planned a project under the PPP (public-private partnership) mode at an estimated cost of Rs 3 crore for the development of an integrated tourism resort-cum-spa on the said land. However, the plan remained only on papers.
A senior officer from the tourism department, who preferred anonymity, told TOI that at present there is a proposal to develop this site as village tourism.
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"Swiss tents are being planned to be set up here, and formal approval from the authorities concerned is awaited," he said.
Meanwhile, residents of the area have no hopes from the department anymore as three decades have gone by thinking something will come up to give a fillip to the tourism here. The villagers instead demand the return of the acquired land.
"As per the new Land Acquisition Act 2012, if the govt does not utilise the acquired land within five years, it is mandatory to return the land to the landowners.
We demand from the govt to return the acquired land to the farmers, as it has been a long time since the acquisition, and the purpose for which it was acquired has not been fulfilled," said Vijay Bansal, president, Shivalik Vikas Manch.
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