Chandigarh, November 3 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has restrained the Punjab Mandi Board from carrying out any construction on 22 acres (96 bighas) of land belonging to the Gram Panchayat of Mehmadpur in Patiala district until further orders.
The interim direction came from a Bench of Justice Deepak Sibal and Justice Lapita Banerji, while hearing a petition filed by the Mehmadpur Panchayat, which has accused the Mandi Board of illegally acquiring and commercially exploiting village common land in violation of constitutional, statutory, and defence regulations.
According to the petition, the panchayat is the lawful custodian of approximately 22 acres of common land in Mehmadpur. Despite statutory prohibitions and objections raised by the Department of Town and Country Planning, the Mandi Board allegedly induced the panchayat to transfer the land under the pretext of developing a vegetable market. The Board had reportedly promised that two-thirds of the shops built on the site would be given to villagers free of cost.
Misled by these assurances, the panchayat passed several resolutions — on February 9, 2024; July 13, 2024; April 9, 2025; and May 21, 2025 — approving the transfer of land for the project. However, the petition claims that soon after, the Board diverted the land’s use for commercial construction, encroached upon approach roads to neighbouring villages — Barsat, Kishangarh, and Chuharpur — and even initiated e-auctions of the proposed shops, allegedly attempting to usurp panchayat property worth over ₹50 crore for “private and political gain.”
The land lies within 1,000 yards of the Army Ammunition Depot in Patiala, where any construction or plantation is strictly prohibited under the Works of Defence Act, 1903, and a defence notification dated January 16, 2006, reaffirmed through a public notice on September 4, 2023.
Alarmed by what it called a breach of trust, the panchayat convened a Gram Sabha on September 15, 2025, where over 270 villagers unanimously resolved to revoke all earlier approvals and reclaim ownership of the land. The Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO), Patiala, subsequently wrote to the District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO) on October 15, 2025, recommending restoration of the land to the panchayat.
The Department of Town Planning, in letters dated August 19 and September 18, 2024, had also clearly stated that the site fell within the defence-restricted zone and that any construction there would be impermissible. Despite these warnings, the petition alleges that the Mandi Board, with the connivance of the Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, continued to build in violation of both statutory safeguards and the panchayat’s rights.
Taking note of the submissions, the High Court observed: “The counsel for the petitioner contends that even though the panchayat has cancelled the resolutions transferring the land to Punjab Mandi Board, and the State of Punjab has also directed the Board not to raise any construction, the respondent-Board is continuing with its activity despite part of the land being within 1,000 yards of an ammunition dump.”
The court has barred the Punjab Mandi Board from further construction on the disputed land until the next hearing.
