Punjab introduces new procedure to simplify division of jointly-owned land
Owners can now seek consolidation of different holdings before division: At least 25% of owners must agree to each proposed consolidation: Revenue officials have been given fixed deadlines to process applications: District collectors can approve, amend or reject proposed land consolidations
The Punjab government has introduced a new procedure to make the division of jointly owned land easier and more effective by allowing different holdings to be combined before the land is formally divided.
A formal notification has been issued under the Punjab Land Revenue Act 1967. Under the new procedure, an application for combining land holdings can be submitted to the collector of the relevant subdivision.
The subdivision collector will immediately forward the application to the relevant circle revenue officer. At least 25 per cent of the landowners in each proposed holding must agree to the consolidation.
The circle revenue officer will be responsible for obtaining the consent of the landowners, with assistance from revenue field staff, Numberdar, or other reliable sources.
The circle revenue officer must prepare recommendations within 15 days of receiving the application and submit them to the subdivision collector.
The subdivision collector will then have seven days to forward the case to the district collector. The district collector must make a decision within a further seven days of receiving the recommendations.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, the district collector may approve the proposed holdings for consolidation, change their number, or reject the application.
Once approval is granted, the revenue officer will begin the formal process of dividing the consolidated land among the owners. A total period of 29 days has been set for the different stages up to the district collector's decision.
The new procedure is intended to simplify and improve the process of dividing jointly owned land by first bringing relevant holdings together.