Special Correspondent Himachal, Rajasthan to sign MoU to resolve the issue Pong dam is the main source of water for the Indira Gandhi Canal Project 2,631 remaining oustees will be rehabilitated in IGNP's second phase region JAIPUR: The Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh Governments have agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding to resolve the three-decade-old contentious issue of rehabilitation of oustees of the Pong dam, which is the main source of water for the Indira Gandhi Canal Project (IGNP). Rajasthan Public Works Department Minister Rajendra Rathore told reporters here on Saturday that the Himachal Pradesh Government and the Visthapit Samiti had agreed to relinquish their claim on 29,700-bigha land in Sriganganagar district, which was allotted to the oustees and sold by them to the local farmers. The Rajasthan Government will consider rehabilitation of applicants in IGNP's second phase region. Mr. Rathore, who heads a Cabinet Sub-Committee on the issue, visited Shimla over the weekend and reached an agreement with Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to sign the MoU in the third week of this month. "The MoU will effectively resolve the dispute and pave the way for rehabilitation of 2,631 remaining oustees whose applications have been pending since long,' he said. The Pong dam was constructed in Himachal Pradesh in 1960 and 1.62 lakh hectare land in Rajasthan was allotted in various stages to its 9,196 oustees. The cases of a large number of oustees had been pending since 1980 when the Pong Dam Displaced Persons Act, 1970, was amended. Court intervention The Supreme Court later struck down the regularisation of land plots purchased by farmers from the oustees in Anupgarh and Gharsana tehsils of Sriganganagar district in 1998-99 and ordered the transfer of their title back to the State Government. However, farmers are still ploughing the land and have even raised permanent structures there. Mr. Rathore said the two governments would approach the Supreme Court after signing the MoU and present the cases to the high-powered committee appointed by the apex court. Meanwhile, the pending cases of oustees would be disposed of by allotting them land in the IGNP area in Bikaner and Jaisalmer districts. The Minister said the State Government would only reconsider the applications rejected earlier on the ground of their late submission or failure of submission before the competent officer under Sections 5(2) and 5(3) of the 1970 Act. "Any fresh application of any of the oustees will not be considered,' he added. Mr. Rathore said the decision, besides settling the long-pending issue of rehabilitation, would also provide relief to about 10,000 farmers working on the land purchased from oustees. Chief Ministers Vasundhara Raje and Prem Kumar Dhumal will sign the MoU after the Independence Day.