BHUBANESWAR: Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari on Thursday issued a warning to encroachers asking them to immediately vacate the government land under their occupation or be ready to face strong action.
After taking a review of the land encroachment issue, Pujari said those not heeding the warning will not only be evicted but also forced to foot the entire bill of the eviction operations.
The minister said many influential persons have encroached government land across the state. “There is still time to return the land. If they do not do so, the encroachment will be evicted and full cost of the removal of the structures and clearing the land will be collected from them,” he said.
Official sources said that the Revenue department has asked the tehsildars to prepare a comprehensive digital database of encroached land, including industrial plots, revenue, Gochar, forest-adjacent areas and other public properties. The government will prepare a tehsil-wise encroachment database, he said.
The minister said the government will show no leniency to influential people, land mafia or politically connected persons and strong action will be taken against those obstructing the eviction drive.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had stated in the Assembly during the recently concluded winter session that 500.156 acre of government land have been illegally occupied in prime localities of Bhubaneswar, including Bapuji Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Kharvel Nagar, Satya Nagar, Saheed Nagar, Ganga Nagar, Surya Nagar, Bomikhal, Jharpada, Jayadev Vihar, Chandrasekharpur and Patia.