Malda: Habibpur Land Reforms dept stops filling up of water body

Malda: As a result of continuous vigil, the Block Land and Land Reforms (BLLR) department of Habibpur succeeded in stopping the filling up of a water body. This is the second such incident in a span of three months. The officials visited the spot and forced the owner of the pond to restore it.

On May 14, the department officials were tipped off that a pond of almost 14 katha was being filled up by its owner in Mallikpara of Sreerampur Gram Panchayat under Habibpur Police Station. The very next day, Sapan Tarafdar, block land and land reforms officer, reached the spot to take stock of the matter. The owner of the pond could not show any permission for filling up the water body and claimed to work on the boundary of the pond only.

The locals were also called to the spot to testify to his claims. Tarafdar noticed that almost half the pond was filled up with soil. He immediately directed the owner to restore the pond to its previous condition, else a police complaint would be made against him. The officials remained on spot and the pond owner arranged machines and vehicles to restore the water body.

It has also come to be known that the department had earlier stopped a similar attempt behind the BDO office in Habibpur. Tarafdar said: “Such an attempt to fill up a waterbody will not be tolerated. We always keep a close vigil to stop such malpractices.

Every legal step will be taken against such attempts in this area.”