CUTTACK: Even as the Mahanadi river bed in the city is fast falling victim to the land grabbers, the district administration is yet to wake up from its slumber.
Despite having an 18-member enforcement squad, the administration is not aware of the encroachment of river bed at old Dhabaleswar Gada near Bidanasi where over 100 families have built their houses in the last two years.
While 10 per cent of the families are living in thatched houses, the rest have constructed concrete houses on the river bed. Most of them are enjoying electricity supplied through two transformers set up on gada (slope). The land on the river bed is allegedly being sold by some local youths. The cost of 1,000 sq ft land varies between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000, sources said.
“The Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department had approved the Cuttack Development Enforcement Force (CDEF) comprising 18 former defence personnel to check encroachment in the city four months back. Besides, a committee of enforcement headed by RDC (Central) was constituted involving Cuttack Collector, Municipal Commissioner, DCP, Vice-Chairman of CDA and superintending engineer of R&B division to monitor the surveillance and enforcement activities in the city. But no action has been undertaken against the encroachment on Mahanadi river bed,” alleged a city-based environmentalist.
This apart, the Water Resources department remains a silent spectator. “Protection of river banks is the responsibility of Water Resources department. They should inform and involve district administration, make police requisition for eviction drive and construct boundary wall for protection of the river banks,” said a retired administrative officer.The department should make adequate provision for augmenting surveillance and enforcement activities to check rampant encroachment of the river land, he suggested.
Barring Revenue and Forest departments, no other land owning departments have either a budget or a dedicated team for protection of the government land. The Water Resources department, which is the largest government land holding agency having huge river banks, embankments and flood plain area, does not have any provision for protection of the property, he added. Collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani, however, said the district administration will soon ask the Water Resources department and the CDEF to take steps for removal of encroachments from Mahanadi river bed near Dhabaleswar Gada.