LAHORE, April 13: Punjab Consolidation of Holdings Rules of 1998 have been amended to prevent the influential people from depriving the poor of their land under the garb of consolidation.

Talking to a delegation on Friday, Punjab Revenue and Consolidation Minister Gul Hameed Rokhri said that the rules had been amended to impose a ban on transfer of land falling within five acre radius of a village; and orchards and land facing a metalled road could not be transferred through consolidation. If the owners of land wanted to exchange their land through consolidation, the consolidation officer will accept the request only with the written consent of the landowners. The ‘Shamlat’ land required to be used for common purposes like graveyards, hospitals and schools will be allocated only with the consent of the advisory committee of the village. All the landowners in the village will provide land for collective projects if no ‘Shamlat’ land is available.