Ambala Division Commissioner Sanjeev Verma has remanded the controversial case of the ownership of M/s Polo Hotels Limited over the prime 72 bighas of land (over 18 acres) in Sector 31 (Chowki village) of Panchkula, back to the District Collector (DC) to ascertain the share again in view of new facts.
As per an estimate, the land is worth Rs 200 crore. The Change of Land Use (CLU) had also been granted over the land. A restaurant, ‘Hotel North Park’, used to run from there.
While disposing of the appeal of Panchkula Municipal Corporation (MC), Verma said the District Collector needed to examine the revenue record, the acquisition proceedings, and other relevant documents to ascertain the share of M/s Polo Hotels and its owner again.
Proceedings before the Ambala commissioner
Aggrieved by the then DC Panchkula Sushil Sarwan’s order, dated January 16, 2024, MC Panchkula approached the Commissioner, Ambala Division. It contended that the land in question had come within the extended limits of the MC Panchkula after its formation.
It added that at present, there was no gram panchayat of Chowki village as the entire revenue estate had merged into the Panchkula MC; therefore, Panchkula DC, under the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, had no jurisdiction to adjudicate the title of the land and the same could only be done by a civil court.
It was further argued that the land in question had vested in the Gram Panchayat of Chowki village under the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act and, as such, it was an asset of the Gram Panchayat, which, on the merger of the area into the municipal limits, vested in the MC Panchkula.
M/s Polo Hotels Ltd and its owner AR Dahiya, resident of Sector 21, Panchkula, submitted that their predecessors were co-sharers in the shamlat land of the erstwhile village, Chowki, and were in cultivating possession of the land before January 26, 1950. They claimed that the land clearly falls under the exclusion clause for shamlat land under the Village Common Lands Regulation Act.
More than 100-year-old records perused
During the proceedings, the Commissioner, Ambala Division, ordered a report from the present District Collector, Panchkula, IAS Satpal Sharma, on the claims of M/s Polo Hotels.
The District Collector pointed out that M/S Polo Hotels’ vendors or their ancestors were recorded in the revenue records before January 26, 1950, in the Jamabandi years 1918-19, 1922-23, 1926-27, 1930-31, 1934-35, 1938-39, and 1942-43. It was also stated that the first ‘bandobast’ (settlement) of Chowki was in 1905-06, but was reflected in 1920.
Verma observed that it was clear the District Collector had testified to the share and cultivating possession of the respondents’ predecessors before January 26, 1950, based on the old revenue record. The land in question thus fell under the exclusion clause of ‘shamlat deh’ under the Village Common Lands Act.
“The Ld. Counsel for the appellant (MC, Panchkula) had also not raised any other objection regarding the factum of share and cultivating possession,” he added.
He declared that from the DC Panchkula’s report, one more fact is clear: the entitlement of M/s Polo Hotels and AR Dahiya to the shamlat land has been proved.
During the proceedings, MC Panchkula gave an application stating that a chunk of the land was acquired from the land in question, which was part of the sale deeds executed in favour of M/s Polo Hotels and AR Dahiya.
Verma, in his order dated May 13, observed that there was a force in the contention of MC Panchkula regarding 15 Bigha and 13 biswa of land that had been acquired by the State Government in 1990, and the predecessors of M/s Polo Hotels and AR Dahiya had apparently taken compensation.
He added that these facts are required to be examined by the District Collector after perusal of the revenue record, acquisition proceedings, and other relevant documents to determine the exact deduction to be carried out from the share of the predecessors of M/s Polo Hotels and AR Dahiya.
For the same, Verma remanded the case back to the District Collector.
Following a complaint, on June 1, the Director, Urban Local Bodies Department, sought a report from the DC, Panchkula, in the matter.
