Nainital district administration gearing up for anti-encroachment operation to vacate enemy property
Thursday, 13 July 2023 | PNS | NAINITAL
In latest Uttarakhand news, the Nainital district administration is gearing up to launch operation to remove encroachment on the enemy property lying in the Metropole area in Mallital. Notably, the district administration had sent notices to over 134 encroachers twice to vacate the property marked as enemy property, but none of the encroachers has till now vacated, prompting the administration to prepare for anti-encroachment drive to forcibly remove them soon after the current spell of rains subsides.
Some of the encroachers moved the Supreme Court and the State High Court and filed public interest litigation to stall the expected anti-encroachment operation. But both the courts squashed the PILs following hearing.
It is further learnt that a High Court advocate Nitin Karki had written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the illegal occupation of the enemy property in Nainital district.
The DM Nainital Vandana said that as the encroachers had refused to vacate this property despite notice being sent to them twice, the district administration is preparing to launch operation to remove them soon after the current rain spell subsides.
Speaking of the matter, the sub-divisional magistrate Rahul Shah said that the enemy property located in Metropole area in Mallital is stretched over 22,530 square metre area. “And out of this, 11,400 acres of land worth about Rs 99 crore is under illegal occupation,” he said and added that long time had elapsed since notices were sent to the encroachers. He further said that the administration can launch operation against the encroachers if nothing happens a fortnight after the notice is sent.
Notably, enemy property is the property of those people who left the country in the aftermath of 1947 partition and creation of Pakistan, Sino-India border war in 1962 and two wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. The Enemy Property Act came into existence in 1968 according to whose provision the marked enemy property is vested in the Custodian appointed by the Centre. There is an enemy property custodian department too under the Government of India which is empowered to appropriate the enemy property under the Enemy Property Act 1968.
