Wednesday, 09 October 20224 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Dehradun district magistrate Savin Bansal has called on all departments to expedite the process of clearing encroachments from government land, stressing that merely recording actions as ‘ongoing’ will not suffice. He said that all departments must act on the ground to reclaim their land from encroachment. He stated this during a meeting with officials of the departments concerned. He instructed the departmental nodal officers to identify encroachments on their land and coordinate with the respective sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) and circle officers (COs) for swift action. He reiterated that the departments should treat the removal of encroachments as part of their routine processes and must ensure continuous efforts in this regard.
Expressing his dissatisfaction with the lack of clear timelines, Bansal instructed officers to include specific deadlines for taking action on encroachments, instead of simply marking reports as ‘ongoing’. He demanded transparency and accountability in the process. He also talked particularly about the Herbertpur municipal body which had earlier issued a notice regarding an encroachment near the Asan river in 2021. Upon inquiry, Bansal learned that no significant action had been taken since then. He reprimanded the officials for the delay and demanded a detailed explanation for the prolonged inaction.
The DM further directed the department to expedite the removal of the encroachment without further delay. He instructed all departments to prepare a comprehensive database of their land and work proactively to safeguard it. He assured them that the police and administrative authorities will fully support these efforts to remove illegal encroachments. He also directed each department to upload real-time updates on the status of encroachment removals and ensure weekly actions are taken to keep the process transparent.
