Siliguri: The Phansidewa block administration has launched an initiative to reclaim government land from encroachment. The administration has freed land near the Lachka River under Hetmudi Shinghijhora Gram Panchayat, which had been encroached upon by locals for over 60 years.
After the administration was made aware of the situation, the department of Land and Land Reforms initiated a thorough investigation to determine the status of the land. Upon investigation, it was confirmed that the land had been illegally occupied.
On Thursday, the administration evicted the encroachers and officially marked the land by placing two government signboards.
Ashok Paul, the Revenue Officer of the department, said: “As per the instructions from our senior officials, we began investigating the land. We discovered that there was once a river in the area, but over time, the land had been encroached upon. We have also informed the police about the situation and we have installed two government boards to mark
the land.” This action comes as per the instructions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had earlier ordered block-level administrations to monitor and take strict action against land encroachments and land mafias, particularly in areas such as Matigara, Naxalbari and Phansidewa.
Since the Chief Minister’s directive, the administration has been actively working to identify and free encroached lands in these regions. Earlier surveys in the Naxalbari block led to the freeing of several government lands from encroachment. The Phansidewa block administration continues to conduct surveys to identify other instances of encroachment.