Punjab’s government has been ordered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to compensate Rs. 5 lakhs to the widow of a deceased soldier for not clearly assigning any revenue rasta to the land given to her in honour of her husband’s service to the country.
The petitioner had acquired 10 acres of land as an honouring gesture to her gallant husband who died defending the Indian borders.
Out of the 10 acres granted to the petitioner in 1997, only a symbolic possession of 8 acres was assignable to her as the remaining 2 acres were under forest cover.
Even though the petitioner had received the land in 2009, there was no revenue rasta assigned to her that enabled her to utilise and enjoy the land.
After approaching the high court through a writ petition and getting an order to release the compensation, the state government stated that a rasta had been alloted to the petitioner.
The court observed that had there been prompt action taken on the government’s side, the petitioner would not have to go through litigation to get her share of land.
The court has ordered the government to provide a compensatory amount of Rs 5 lakhs to the widow for the “indolence and lethargy” on the part of the officials concerned.
