In a significant move towards empowering landowners, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu inaugurated the distribution of property cards under the Swamitva Yojana at Hamirpur today. The initiative, spearheaded by the Revenue Department, aims to provide rightful ownership cards to villagers occupying land in Abadi Deh areas (Inhabited areas).
The Chief Minister marked the commencement of this scheme by distributing property cards to 10 families each, from 11 tehsils. In the first phase, more than 4,230 families across 190 villages would receive their property cards. He said that the primary goal of the Swamitva Yojana was to grant ownership rights to landholders in Abadi-Deh areas, significantly easing their access to official land records.
Implementation of the scheme involved drone-assisted mapping which completed 13,599 out of 15,196 Abadi Deh villages across the state. In addition, the Indian Survey Department has provided 16,588 first-level maps for 6,314 villages, including those in Hamirpur district. Further, 1,482 second-level maps for 774 villages have been received, along with final-level maps for 355 villages in Hamirpur, where the issuance of property cards is underway.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister highlighted that Hamirpur has set a national precedent by becoming the first district to grant ownership rights to the families in Abadi Deh areas. He congratulated the beneficiaries and emphasized that the newly conferred rights would resolve many of the issues faced by the residents of Lal-Dora/Lal-Lakir. He underscored the commitment of state government to enhance public convenience, and said that changes to the Land Revenue Code had resulted in 1.57 mutation cases being processed in the last six months, reducing the need for repeated visits to revenue offices. He said that besides making changes in land revenue manuals, a timeline have also been set up for every officer to resolve the revenue related matters. Apart from this efforts were being made streamline departmental operations to further reduce public inconvenience in the near future.
Sukhu criticized the previous government for politically motivated actions, such as waiving electricity bills for affluent individuals, while his government prioritizes subsidies for poorer families. He called on well-off citizens to voluntarily give-up government subsidies to contribute to the state’s self-reliance and developmental initiatives. He also urged the hoteliers to renounce their electricity and water subsidies. The state government was working to improve water quality and would limit water bill subsidies to families earning less than Rs 50,000 annually.
He also pointed various welfare schemes launched to uplift the dairy sector benefitting farmers besides enhancement of honorarium of various categories at panchayat and village level.
The Chief Minister also addressed the ongoing challenges posed by natural disasters in the State and said that all the disaster affected would be compensated as per norms.
Earlier, he laid the foundation stone for the State Tax and Excise Department’s colony at Pakka Bharo, in Hamirpur district, to be built at a cost of Rs. 1.82 crore. He also inaugurated the Town Bharari-Nandhan-Plassey road, to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 5.59 crore.
On this occasion, Bhoranj MLA Suresh Kumar praised the state government’s significant land law reforms, and the proactive steps of government for improving the derailed economic condition of the state.
He also mentioned ongoing development projects in Hamirpur, including the construction of a nursing college, a new bus stand and the beautification of the Hamirpur market, with a sanctioned budget of Rs. 20 crore.
Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Onkar Chand Sharma detailed the information regarding Swamitva Yojana. He said that the revenue department was working with utmost dedication to digitize the department and provide speedy services to the people at their doorsteps.
MLA Ranjeet Rana, Chairman of Kangra Cooperative Bank Kuldeep Pathania, Kangra Cooperative Primary Agriculture and Rural Development Bank Ram Chandra Pathania, Chairman APMC Ajay Sharma, former MLA Anita Verma and Manjit Dogra, District Congress President Suman Bharti, Joint Secretary in Government of India Alok Prem Nagar and senior congress leaders and representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions were present on the occasion.
