LAHORE (Dunya News) - Punjab has abolished its 66-year-old legal framework governing the consolidation of agricultural landholdings after the governor approved the Punjab Consolidation of Holdings Repeal Act 2026.
The new legislation repeals the Punjab Consolidation of Holdings Ordinance 1960 and has come into force immediately, bringing an end to the initiation of any new agricultural land consolidation proceedings under the old law.
However, the repeal will not automatically invalidate actions already taken or rights created under the previous legal framework.
Rights, privileges, obligations and liabilities already acquired or incurred under the repealed law will remain protected. Similarly, agricultural land consolidation schemes already approved will not automatically cease to exist.
365-day deadline for approved schemes The new law establishes a transitional mechanism for dealing with pending consolidation cases.
Schemes that have already been approved must be implemented within a maximum period of 365 days.
During this period, authorities will also be required to complete outstanding procedures involving the transfer of possession and the disposal of pending objections.
If an approved scheme cannot be completed within the stipulated 365-day period, the matter will be transferred to the collector of the relevant district for further action.
Special rules for unconfirmed schemes The legislation establishes separate procedures for consolidation schemes that have not yet been formally confirmed.
Where 70 percent or more of the entitlement shares in an unconfirmed scheme have already been completed, authorities will have another 180 days to complete the remaining work.
If the outstanding entitlement process is completed within those 180 days, the confirmed scheme will be transferred to the relevant district collector for implementation.
However, if a scheme that has already achieved at least 70 percent progress is not completed within the additional 180-day period, the consolidation proceedings will be considered terminated.
Unconfirmed schemes where less than 70 percent of the entitlement-share work has been completed will be discontinued, with the relevant records handed over to the district collector.
Land Revenue Act to govern unfinished cases
Following the abolition of the old consolidation regime, the relevant district collectors will deal with unfinished matters under the Punjab Land Revenue Act 1967, in accordance with the new law.
The legislation also empowers the Punjab Board of Revenue to issue directions and guidelines necessary for implementing the repeal and managing transitional cases.
The Board of Revenue has further been authorised to establish an electronic or digital system for handling matters relating to agricultural land consolidation.
The repeal represents a major change in Punjab’s land administration framework, ending a system introduced in 1960 while providing a time-bound mechanism to settle schemes and rights that were already being processed under the previous law.