Haryana government will enact a law to give ownership rights to villagers who have been occupying for several years tracts of land meant for common use, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Wednesday.

Chairing a meeting held with a delegation of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) here, Khattar said that a special committee being monitored by him has been constituted to study the old laws and prepare new one.

"In a big relief for Jumla Malkan, Mustraka Malkan, Shamlat Deh, Jumla Mustraka Malkan and Abadkar, Pattedar, Dholidar, Butmidar Mukrirdar and Kashtkar (types of common land), the state government has decided to introduce a new law to give ownership rights to them," said an official statement on Wednesday.

"Deputy Chief Minister, Development and Panchayat Minister, Urban Local Bodies Minister and Advocate General have also been included in this committee," said Khattar.

“Two meetings of this committee have been held and directions have been given to the officers concerned to prepare the draft of the said law. This work is in the final stage, soon a Bill related to it will be brought in the Vidhan Sabha," he said, while adding farmers' representatives can also give any suggestions for the draft of this law to the committee.

The chief minister said that no injustice will be done to the farmers who have either been residing there or doing farming on such lands for years.

"They will not be asked to vacate the land. However, the government has strictly ensured no further encroachment is done on such land," he said.

The BKU delegation expressed their gratitude to the chief minister for finding a permanent solution to this issue by deciding to bring in a law, said the statement.

Earlier, main opposition Congress had demanded that a special session of state assembly be convened to discuss the issue of 'shamlat land' (common land) and to bring a law in favour of villagers who had been demanding ownership rights.

Many farmers' bodies had also been demanding ownership rights of 'shamlat land' to those farmers who had been in possession of it for past many decades.

Chief Minister Khattar also said that a new scheme is being formulated for groundwater recharging.

He said the availability of water is continuously decreasing in the state, and in view of this it is also the responsibility of the government to ensure the optimum use of water.

Borewells are also being set up by the government for groundwater recharging, he added.

Accepting the suggestion given by the BKU, Khattar said that soon a new scheme will be brought, under which farmers will be able to set up borewells in their fields for groundwater recharging and the state government will make provision for giving subsidy on this.

For this, the blueprint will be prepared soon, he added.

- With PTI Input