Illegal house, crops come up on IIM land in Sirmaur

Solan, March 27

The Sirmaur district authorities in Himachal Pradesh have directed the Paonta Sahib sub-division officials to clear encroachments on the land allotted for setting up a permanent campus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Dhaulan Kuan.

Chairing a meeting in Nahan today to review the progress of the project, Deputy Commissioner RK Gautam asked the officials concerned, including the Paonta Sahib Sub-Divisional Magistrate, to ensure the encroachments were cleared at the earliest. “Being a fertile area, the residents have reportedly been raising various crops like wheat on the land allotted for the IIM, a sizable chunk of which is lying vacant for the past few years,” said Gautam.

Sanctioned for Himachal in 2014, the IIM-Sirmaur has been operating from a temporary campus at Dhaulan Kuan since August 2015. The stone of the permanent campus was laid in August 2020 by then Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal through video-conferencing.

The first phase of the institute is being built with an outlay of Rs 392.51 crore. About 60 per cent of the construction was done and the remaining was to be completed by the end of July this year, said a senior official.

The Deputy Commissioner also directed the IIM authorities to erect a boundary wall around the campus to keep out the locals who had started tilling the land. He also sought a report regarding the encroachments so that further action could be initiated. “The IIM is a prestigious institute, which will ensure economic uplift of the area. Its campus must be constructed without any obstruction,” he said.

Gautam also directed the officials to construct a 2.23 km road, including a bridge, within the institute’s campus by May 15.

IIM project adviser Dinkar Hitesh elaborated upon various issues like encroachments as well as the progress of roads and paths. The adviser said the work on the boundary wall would be initiated soon to deter encroachers. The land was previously held by the Agriculture Department before being transferred to the IIM.

It has also come to light that a resident had constructed a house in a corner of the campus. Paonta Sahib SDM Gunjeet Cheema said the construction was about eight to 10 years old and the house’s second floor was built recently. “A notice under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, will be issued to the house owner who claims that he owns the land. The land records, however, show that his plot is elsewhere. The issue will be sorted out soon,” said Cheema.