Bengal takes up initiative to recover hundreds of acres

KOLKATA: The state government has taken initiative to recover land measuring hundreds of acres that have been encroached up in other states and even countries.

The value of the land will be several hundred crores as per present market price.

The state government will request the External Affairs ministry to take up the issues with their counterparts in other foreign lands.

A sprawling bungalow called Sussex Cottage was purchased by the office of the Administrator General and Official Trustee, Bengal in 1937. The initiative to recover the land has begun, said Biplab Roy, Administrator General and Official Trustee of West Bengal.

"This is just a tip of the ice berg. Hundreds of acres of land have been encroached both in the country and abroad and steps will be taken to recover them. We have huge land in Bangladesh and Rangoon in Myanmar." These land parcels had belonged to the trusts and after the trustees died without any heir, the property goes to the office of the Administrator General and Official Trustee of West Bengal.

Rani Saheba Chadrabati had constructed a Kali temple and a four storeyed hostel building for students behind the Viswanath temple in Varanasi.

During the development of vast areas surrounding the temple, Uttar Pradesh government got in touch with the office of the Administrator General and Official Trustee of West Bengal about the four storeyed building. On getting negative reply from the officials in Bengal, the building was pulled down.

Biplab Roy, the present Administrator General and Official Trustee of West Bengal got a copy of the building plan which was made shortly after Independence.

The trust was formed in 1951. Roy took up with the Kashi Viswanath Mandir Committee's executive officer Sunil Verma. The UP government is likely to give compensation of Rs 8 crore.

Another 100 bigha land has been encroached in Purba Bardhaman. In Metiabruz, a state government-aided Hindi medium school has been set up on land belonging to the official trustee.

"It is a difficult task. But we are slowly trying to get in touch with the respective state governments to recover the land belonging to West Bengal,"

said Roy.