PUNJAB CABINET OKAYS PROPRIETARY LAND RIGHTS FOR SLUM DWELLERS

Chandigarh, October 14: The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday gave approval to notify the Rules of the Punjab Slum Dwellers (Proprietary Rights) Act 2020 for the purpose of giving proprietary rights of land to slum dwellers, thus ensuring basic amenities for them.According to the spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office, the Local Government department has already prepared ‘BASERA – Chief Minister’s Slum Development Programme’ in accordance with Section 17 of the Punjab Slum Dwellers (Proprietary Rights) Act 2020, which outlines the guiding framework for the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to implement the Act. This programme envisages a ‘Slum-free Punjab’, with inclusive and equitable cities in which every citizen has access to basic civic services, social amenities and decent shelter.Punjab has witnessed mushrooming of unauthorized slums on government land in recent decades as a result of influx of migrant population due to growth and development of the urban areas. This has presented the government with the challenge to provide basic amenities to all sections of the society residing in the city/towns including the slum dwellers. For sustainable growth of the cities, the management of slums in the urban areas of the state is a major concern, which the rules will help address to some extent.