District administration all set to launch demolition drive in Enemy Property land in Nainital town
Thursday, 20 JULY 2023 | PNS | NAINITAL
In latest Uttarakhand news, the Nainital district administration is all set to launch an eviction and demolition operation against those who have been occupying the Enemy Property in the Metropole area in Nainital town on July 21. Notably, the electricity and water connections of 134 families residing in the lands marked as Enemy Property
have been cut off as the eviction notices served to them repeatedly by the district administration have failed to make them vacate these properties. A joint team of the district administration and police visited these places and asked the illegal occupants to leave on their own failing which eviction and demolition drive would be launched on July 21.
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.
Meanwhile, the local Congress leaders have thrown their full weight behind these alleged encroachers and participated in a silent rally that was taken out from Pant Park in Mallital to Gandhi Chowk in Tallital by the members of the families who are to be evicted.
Speaking of the matter, the deputy district magistrate Rahul Shah said that the district administration and police have taken all preparations to launch the demolition drive on July 21. “It is good if they vacate of their own accord before the launch of the demolition drive,” he added.
Differing with the administration, the Nainital city Congress president Anupam Kabadwal said that the demolition drive the administration is going to launch on July 21 is ill-timed. “It is raining here now and it would be inhumane to evict so many families at this time. Besides, they must be rehabilitated somewhere. Further, disconnecting water and electricity supplies to the houses where these families have been living is affecting the students gravely as their school examinations are now going on,” the local Congress leader said.
The Samajwadi Party has echoed the view of the Congress on this matter and a party leader Abdul Matin Siddiqui met the Commissioner Kumaon Division Deepak Rawat and requested him to intervene so that the demolition drive is kept on hold for the time being till the end of the monsoon season. He also met the members of the families to be affected by the upcoming demolition drive.
The members of such families say that they are ready to pay rent to the State government for the spaces they are occupying. They further said that if their eviction is unavoidable they should be given time till the monsoon season ends and they should be rehabilitated somewhere.
