More than a thousand policemen remain deployed at Shastri Nagar waiting of evacuation drive to begin at illegal settlement on graveyard land. Despite high court orders permitting the district administration to advance with evacuating the slum of the illegal occupants, the drive continues to delay as ownership of nearly six bighas of land remains disputed.
The issue is now to be decided upon at the chief secretary level regarding which the concerned departments have been called with the related documents at a meeting with the chief secretary on Friday. Earlier on Thursday too, discussions were held at the government level on the issue, while the district administration continues to build pressure on the occupants to voluntarily vacate the land.
As district administration officials remain tight-lipped over the issue, sources close to the department tell that the illegal slum to be evacuated is spread over nearly 41 bighas of land of which 35 is supposed to be part of the graveyard. However, the Waqf board claims that the all the 41 bighas is graveyard property. Even as the high court has ordered the evacuation of the illegal colony, the issue of land ownership was left to be decided by the state government.
Meanwhile, the residents too have agreed to the rehabilitation package offered by the district administration continue to vacate voluntarily. However, even as the drive gets delayed, the administration’s effort to develop consensus among the affected families received less success on Thursday. There are nearly 360 families expected to be affected during the evacuation but only about one-third of these have agreed to accept the rehabilitation package.
Only few agreed
Even as the drive gets delayed, the administration’s effort to develop consensus among the affected families received less success on Thursday. There are nearly 360 families expected to be affected during the evacuation but only few have agreed to accept the package.
