Uttarakhand CM Dhami's campaign to remove illegal encroachment from Devbhoomi

Chandigarh, August 11

For the past few months, the bulldozers of the Pushkar Dhami government in Uttarakhand are engaged in the work of removing people, who are illegally occupying government lands. This encroachment happened in the past years and spoiled the eternal form of Devbhoomi. 

Giving details, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “We will not allow the eternal form of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand to deteriorate. Our pilgrimages, our rivers are sacred and it is our duty to protect and serve them. We have started a campaign to free the rivers and forests from encroachment. These Himalayan and Shivalik peaks are the abode of our deities.”

CM Dhami has also instructed all District Magistrates that illegal settlers should be removed without any political or social pressure.

The Uttarakhand government has also passed a proposal in the Cabinet to enact a strict law against the encroachers. It is to be presented in the upcoming Assembly session. There is a provision for strict punishment of up to ten years by filing a case under IPC for encroachment.

Encroachers occupying forest land

Geographically, 71 percent of the area Uttarakhand is forest land, where most illegal encroachers are settled. A survey conducted by the government found that 11,814 hectares of forest land has been encroached upon by people from outside. The survey also revealed that in the 23 rivers where mining takes place, riverine category forest land has been encroached upon. Earlier, labourers from outside used to come for mining and after the mining stopped in rainy season, they would go back. But under previous governments, these people settled here permanently and built kutcha-pucca houses and now deals have started happening on this occupied place. This bargaining got political patronage and now illegal settlements here have become the cause of population imbalance and religious appeasement.

Thousands of people have come and settled illegally from outside on the banks of Ganga, Gaula, Kosi, Tons, Yamuna, Kalsi, Rispna, Naura, Amlava, etc. These days the police are getting them verified.

Illegal occupation has also been marked in the area, which the administration has made preparations to remove.

All-weather road and other road projects are going on in Uttarakhand, under the guise of which people started settling illegally on the government land in the mountains, which are now being demolished by the Dhami government with bulldozers. Similarly, illegal encroachments continued on the lands of Revenue, PWD, Department, which are now being removed by the administration.

Land occupied for religious purpose

Mazars, Masjid-Madrassas were built with the intention of occupying Forest, PWD, Railway, irrigation land under the guise of religious structures, which the Dhami government has started removing strictly. In Corbett and Rajaji Tiger Reserve, where humans are not allowed to walk, tombs were built, which have now been removed by the Dhami government. Apart from this, illegal tombs on the side of roads, temples and gurdwaras were also built at some places with the intention of encroachment. Such 512 illegal encroachments have also been removed.

Seizure of enemy property

Hotel Metro Paul in Nainital was occupied by hundreds of people in the enemy property complex.  The bulldozers of the Dhami government have got this property of the Ministry of Home Affairs, worth about Rs 300 crore, vacated. These occupants were illegally settled here from Rampur Moradabad district.  Ghoda Basti of Nainital has also been demolished, which was built illegally in the Ayarpata forest. Right now, notices have been given to vacate the enemy property in Kichha, Dehradun and Hardwar as well. Enemy property is defined as one, which its owner left in India and went to Pakistan at the time of Partition. This property comes under the ownership of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Following Supreme Court directions

In the case of religious structures, the Supreme Court has re-directed earlier in 2009 and 2019 that no new religious place can be built even on private land without the permission of the District Magistrate, on government land it has been kept in the category of encroachment. If one has been built in the past and it has to be repaired, then DM’s permission is necessary for that too. The Supreme Court has asked the High Court to monitor such encroachment cases. The district administration has to give a report in this regard to the High Court. The Dhami government has removed religious structures only under the orders of the Supreme Court.

The Nainital High Court has issued strict instructions to free the roadside and forest land from encroachment and has also asked the administration to submit photographs of the action to the High Court.

10 years imprisonment for encroachers 

Dhami cabinet has passed a proposal to bring an ordinance in which a provision has been made to register a case under the IPC Act against encroachers on government and private land and punish them with rigorous punishment for ten years. This proposal will be taken up in the next assembly session. The Dhami government has given freedom to the police administration to impose strict laws like gangster and Rasuka against the encroachers, on which action has started.