Spot encroachers, win cash prizes

Spot encroachers, win cash prizes
Deccan Herald

At first, it was the job of the Joint House Committee to identify encroached government land in and around Bangalore. Now, the government has entrusted this job to the general public...

At first, it was the job of the Joint House Committee to identify encroached government land in and around Bangalore. Now, the government has entrusted this job to the general public, who even stand to win a cash prize for their endeavours.

The government has decided to be “liberal” with those who voluntarily disclose their acts of encroachment. The government will also legalise the encroached land by collecting a sum equal to its market price, even if such land is not suitable for public utility.

Making an announcement to this effect on Thursday, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said that informants will get from Rs 5,000 to Rs one lakh in proportion to the extent of encroached land they identify and if the information passed on to the government is found valid.

The identity of the informants will not be disclosed. Persons with valid information can contact the Enforcement Cell (EC), which is still to be set up. Information can also be passed on to the Joint Legislature Committee, headed by MLA A T Ramaswamy.

The Enforcement Cell will acquire over 18,000 hectares of land encroached upon by private parties in Bangalore.

The members of the Cell will include the Principal Secretary of the Revenue department, a senior IAS officer and four KAS officers. Besides this, a Special Task Force headed by an SP cadre police officer will be constituted to assist the Enforcement Cell

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in acquiring the encroached land, the Chief Minister said.

The State Government will also set up a Legal Cell with four ‘efficient’ senior advocates to handle cases regarding the acquisition of such encroached land. “Only those advocates who are prompt and possess a good track record will be assigned to the job. The acquisition of government land would be completed by the end of March 2007,” he said.

Part of the land acquired will be utilised in development work, while the rest will be auctioned.

According to calculations, the government is expected to earn over Rs 15,000 crore through the auctions. The amount will be used to waive farmers’ loans and improve infrastructure in the capital and other cities of the state, he said.

According to Mr Kumaraswamy, the Enforcement Cell will take action against encroachers irrespective of their position.

“No one will be spared. Even my family members and members of the cabinet will be punished if they are found guilty,” he said.

Replying to a query, Mr Kumaraswamy said that acquisition of encroached government land will be taken up in other cities in a phased manner.

Housing

The Housing Department has set itself a target of constructing six lakh houses by the end of March 2007. So far, the construction of 91,000 houses has already been completed. Of these, 15,000 houses each will be distributed among the families of devadasis and handicapped persons. Similarly, 6,000 houses will be distributed to people who were affected by floods.