Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh high court has warned that coercive steps would be taken to secure the personal appearance of Amit Yadav, the district collector of Sriganganagar in Rajasthan, if he fails to appear before the court in proceedings concerning the non-allotment of agricultural land to Pong Dam oustees even after 59 years of their displacement.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Chirag Bhanu Singh passed the direction while dealing with an application seeking exemption from the personal appearance of the district collector, Sriganganagar.The Pong Dam, built across the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district in 1975, displaced 20,722 families following the acquisition of around 75,268 acres of land across 339 villages in 1966-67.Although 16,100 families were declared eligible for agricultural land allotment in Rajasthan, 6,195 families are still awaiting rehabilitation after 59 years. Out of the 9,905 displaced families who have been allotted land in Rajasthan, only 3,325 have so far been granted full ownership rights or khatedari rights.The court was informed that local body elections had been announced in Rajasthan and that scrutiny and verification of nomination papers were underway. The applicant district collector also pointed out that the court on July 22 granted the officer exemption from personal appearance due to the monsoon session of Parliament.The petitioners, however, strongly opposed the request, arguing that the matter had remained pending for a considerable period and that the officer concerned had never appeared in the proceedings. The petitioners also submitted that Manju, then district magistrate, Sriganganagar, had appeared before the court on March 25, in an execution petition concerning the rehabilitation of Pong Dam oustees.The court noted that no effective proceedings could be conducted in that matter after it was informed that the officer had approached the Supreme Court, which subsequently stayed proceedings in that particular case. The high court, however, clarified that no such stay was operating in the present matter.The bench consequently allowed the application for exemption moved by the district collector. However, it directed that the officer must personally appear on the next date of hearing, subject to his availability as communicated by the counsel. The matter has now been posted for hearing on Sept 23.The court stated that failure to appear on the scheduled date would result in enforcement of the officer’s presence through coercive measures. All connected matters concerning the enforcement of land allotment orders for the Pong Dam oustees will also be taken up on Sept 23.The division bench consequently allowed the application for exemption moved by the district collector, but directed that he must personally appear on the next date of hearing, subject to his availability as communicated by the counsel. The matter has now been posted for hearing on Sept 23. The court categorically observed that failure to appear on the scheduled date would result in enforcement of the officer’s presence through coercive measures. All connected matters concerning enforcement of land-allotment orders to the Pong Dam oustees will also be taken up on Sept 23.
