BALLARI:Ore-rich Sandur, infamous for illegal mining, has another dubious distinction. It is now at the top spot when it comes to encroachment of government lands.
Of the total 43,663 acres government land encroached upon in the district, 22,132 acres were encroached upon in Sandur. This is around 50 per cent of the total encroachment. Kudligi of Ballari comes second with 8,941 acres encroached upon.
Records in the Revenue Department, accessed by Express, suggest that 43,663 acres of government land have been encroached upon in the district, which is approximately around 8 per cent of the total 5.92 lakh acres of government land. The revenue officials are trying their best to get back these encroached lands. As of May-end, they have reclaimed 25,039 acres.
The district administration has been issuing notices to the encroachers for the past one year asking them to vacate the lands. They had even filed criminal cases against some of the accused parties. An official said they started serving notices only recently.