Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 6: In a bid to deter land sharks from usurping government land, the General Administration Department (GAD) has asked Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) to initiate criminal action against those encroaching upon government lands vacated by the latter.
The building regulator has freed over 700 acres of encroached land in the last few months and has erected nearly 400 signboards warning against fresh encroachments.
BDA has been instructed to inform local police stations about the status of government lands that have been vacated and initiate criminal proceedings against those found to be trespassing or attempting to encroach lands within Bhubaneswar Development Plan Area (BDPA).
The letter issued by GAD special secretary Niten Chandra states that the BDA vice-chairman should furnish details of government land under different police stations (PS) so that the concerned PS can act against land-grabbers.
“Following the directives of the Chief Secretary, BDA put up plastic billboards, but they failed to serve the purpose. Now, steel billboards are being erected which cannot be tampered with,” sources said.
Chief Secretary Gokul Pati had constituted six mobile squads comprising officials of BDA, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Orissa State Housing Board (OSHB) and police stations concerned to identify government land and affix signboards reading ‘Land belongs to Orissa government, trespassers will be
prosecuted’.
