Alipurduar district cracks down on illegal land encroachments

Alipurduar: The district administration of Alipurduar convened an urgent meeting within 24 hours of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s directive issued during a meeting at Nabanna on Monday. The aim was to address the issue of illegal constructions on encroached government land. On Tuesday, officials from the district administration, district police and district Land and Land Reforms departments gathered at the administrative building, Dooars Kanya, in Alipurduar district.

Following the meeting, a monitoring committee was established comprising the District Magistrate (DM), Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Superintendent of Police (SP) and District Land and Land Revenue Officer.

District Magistrate R Vimala stated: “The newly-formed monitoring committee will oversee another committee consisting of Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) and other officials. Additionally, there will be committees at the Block Development Officer (BDO) and Inspector-in-Charge (IC) levels.

These committees will report their findings to the district-level committee every Wednesday. Satellite imagery, drone surveys and Google locator data have already identified illegal constructions on government land at 23 locations in the district. Notices have been issued for demolition of these constructions. If no action is taken, legal measures will follow against the offenders. A district-wide survey has revealed that the Public Works Department (PWD) lands have been encroached upon the most.”

Regarding measures to curb brokers, she added: “To prevent brokers from exploiting the system, CCTV cameras will be installed in six Block Land and Land Reforms Offices of the district. Often, citizens unknowingly rely on brokers due to unfamiliarity with the correct procedures for land-related matters, perpetuating corrupt practices in these offices.

To assist the public, Bangla Sohayata Kendra (Help Desk) will be established at the land and land revenue offices in these six blocks.”