Encroachment around Gaon Sabha land removed

The encroachments in and around Gaon Sabha land in Fatehpuri Beri were removed on Tuesday on the direction of Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee. The team has freed 10 acres of land by removing unauthorised farmhouses, jhuggis, godowns and animal sheds.

The Gaon Sabha land has been proposed to be allotted for the construction of a school, girls college, primary health care centre, STP etc. Due to the illegal encroachment in the area, the land could not be allotted to the respective departments responsible for the set up.

A team involving the officials from district commissioner, DDA, Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Delhi Police and BSES visited the area. According to the sources, the government is going to visit other encroached land in south Delhi in the coming days to make them encroachment-free.

"The places in south Delhi have been identified and the work is on to clear these areas. The illegal encroachment will be removed and the land will be handed over to the DDA," said one of the Delhi government official.

The action is being taken in keeping with the directions of the Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee overseeing the removal of all unauthorised occupation of government land. The authorities see the role of "land grabbers" behind most of these encroachments.

On March 15, the monitoring committee members carried out an inspection in and around the archaeological park in the company of officials from DDA and South Delhi Municipal Corporation. On March 22, the committee issued directions to the district task force (south) to initiate legal action to free up all occupied government land around the park. The panel noted with concern that "encroachment and unauthorised construction is growing day by day" in the area.