GDC Bishnah construction stalled over land dispute: Minister Itoo

Jammu : Education Minister Sakeena Itoo Friday informed the House that the land acquisition for construction of Government Degree College (GDC) Bishnah has been stalled due to dispute with the landowners.
The Minister stated this while replying to a question of Legislator Dr. Rajeev Kumar Bhagat regarding identification of land for GDC Bishnah in the House.
She informed the House that GDC Bishnah was sanctioned by the government in 2007 and has been functioning since 2008 from the premises of Government Higher Secondary School (Boys), Bishnah on a temporary basis with makeshift arrangements in absence of its own permanent infrastructure.
The Minister informed the House that 55 Kanal, 14 Marla land at Chak Avtara, Bishnah, was identified for the college building in 2010. However, the landowners refused to accept the acquisition notices under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act thus stalling the process.
The Minister further said that the Higher Education department (HED) of then State Government had already released an amount of Rs. 192.165 lakh in 2013 to District Development Commissioner, Jammu, for payment of compensation to the concerned landowners. She added that despite this, the acquisition could not be finalized due to non-cooperation from the landowners.
Legislator, Sham Lal Sharma raised supplementary question.