PWD takes possession of 16 shops in Jawali

After over 13 years’ dilly-dallying approach, the Public Works Department (PWD) on Monday swung into action to implement eviction orders issued by the Jawali SDM in March, 2011, for evicting as many as 20 shops constructed on the PWD land by some locals in Nagrota Surian town. It is alleged that the encroachers, most of them Pong Dam oustees, had raised pucca structures at Nagrota Surian bus stand over four decades ago and started earning their livelihood.

In order to implement the 13 years old eviction order, the PWD divisional authorities had served notices for vacating their shops on 20 land encroachers in September this year. The PWD authorities, in the presence of police force and local tehsildar, evicted 16 out of 20 shops and took possession of their structures.

The shopkeepers, who had been earning their livelihood for the past over 40 years, have opposed the process. But, the PWD has taken physical possession of only 16 shops as two shopkeepers had taken stay orders from the judicial court, while remaining two shops were found out of the PWD land during land demarcation.

The shopkeepers, who have been rendered jobless after the implementation of eviction orders, have been demanding regularisation of their encroachments with some monthly lease amounts for the past few years. Surinder Sharma, Swaran Dhiman, Rishu Kumar and Krishan Bhardwaj said the state government should adopt a humanitarian approach towards the displaced families. “Most of the displaced shopkeepers are Pong Dam oustees who had earlier been displaced in 1974 after the construction of the dam and now eviction orders have rendered them jobless,” they lamented.

Inquiries reveal that the eviction orders issued by the Jawali SDM have been put on the back burner keeping in view the livelihood issues of the locals and the authorities concerned have deferred the implementation. But, a tenant of one of the land encroachers, after getting evicted from his shop by the latter, had filed a Civil Writ Petition in the High Court (HC) seeking implementation of the eviction order issued by the SDM Jawali.

Meanwhile, PWD Executive Engineer Manohar Sharma said the department took possession of the shops built on the PWD land following intervention of the High Court. He said the department had to file its reply in the court in the next hearing of the CWP and submit confirmation of the implementation of the eviction order.