Rupnagar: Punjab Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar on Wednesday successfully took control of about 85 acres of Panchayat land in Harnampur village under Gram Panchayat Hirdapur. Speaking to the media on the spot, the Cabinet Minister said that the land containing orchards of guava and other trees in Harnampura village and land worth more than Rs 100 crore was illegally occupied by industrialists and local villagers, which has been vacated. . , Under the ongoing campaign of the state government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. He said that the possession of land in village Harnampur under Gram Panchayat Hirdapur has been returned. It will later be allocated for agricultural purposes through open bidding, and the income generated will be used for village development. The Rural Development Minister clearly instructed the officials not to include such persons in the bidding process who are in illegal occupation of the land. The Cabinet Minister urged the people of Punjab to cooperate with the state government in eliminating illegal encroachments in their villages. He said that this cooperation will enable the Panchayats to make significant efforts towards increasing income. He regretted that the previous governments had given patronage to people to take over Panchayat land and thousands of acres of land in the state, from which the Punjab government was supposed to collect revenue on a large scale, but this could not happen. This situation has caused financial loss to the state treasury. The Cabinet Minister said, on the other hand, the government led by Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann is taking strict steps against illegal encroachments. Through its sustained anti-encroachment drive, thousands of acres of land, both commercial and agricultural, have been freed from illegal encroachment.” The Minister confirmed that the drive against illegal encroachment will continue in the future. On this occasion, Additional Deputy Commissioner Amardeep Singh Gujral, SDM Rupnagar Harkirat Kaur, DSP Tarlochan Singh, Joint Director of Shamlat Cell Shri Jagwinderjit Singh Sandhu and other senior officers were present.