Chandigarh, January 11

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today put Punjab and other respondents on notice on a petition filed in public interest by an advocate against the government’s move to provide Rs 50 lakh, instead of 10 acres of cultivable land, to widows, parents and children of soldiers martyred in 1962,1965, and 1971 wars.In his petition, advocate Harbinder Singh Baidwan challenged the state government notification dated October 19, 2016. Baidwan said the government had notified the Punjab Package Deal Properties Rules, 1976, for the allotment of 10 acres of cultivable land to the kin.Baidwan said this was a cruel joke with the families of the martyrs.The Bench of Justice SS Saron and Justice Darshan Singh fixed March 9 as the next date of hearing. — TNS