Anti-encroachment Drive

Two-thirds land of Yamuna floodplain encroached in recent years: DDA survey

A DDA survey has found that two-thirds land of the Yamuna floodplain has been encroached upon in recent years, officials said on Friday. Delhi High Court on March 27 directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to use the latest technology such as satellite imagery and drone photography to ascertain the current status of the land in Zone O. In its survey, the DDA recorded that 7,362.56 hectares of a total 9,700.00 hectares in Zone O, comprising the Yamuna floodplain, had been encroached upon, a senior official said. On July 8, the high court directed the DDA vice-chairman to remove all encroachments and illegal constructions on the Yamuna riverbank, riverbed and drains flowing into the river. According to the high court order, the DDA has to coordinate with all agencies concerned to ensure the removal of encroachments from the floodplain. The Delhi Police may provide necessary force to maintain law and order during anti-encroachment drives. The court also asked the DDA to fence

Why was actor Nagarjuna's N-convention centre demolished? Key details

It is alleged that the convention centre has faced longstanding scrutiny over allegations of unauthorised construction within the Full Tank Level and buffer zones in Hyderabad

Courts can't be ruthless: SC orders rehabilitation for Haldwani residents

Haldwani encroachment case: Supreme Court directs the Centre and Uttarakhand govt to create rehabilitation plan for more than 50,000 people residing in Haldwani. Next hearing is scheduled for Sept 11

6 cops among 8 hurt in clashes over anti-encroachment drive in J-K's Kathua

At least eight people, including six police personnel, were injured when a mob attacked a police team during an anti-encroachment drive in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district on Saturday, officials said. The police party was attacked with lathis and stones when it was escorting a team of revenue officials who had gone to a village in the Nagri area to demolish an illegally built place of worship, they said. According to the officials, the six injured police personnel included a deputy superintendent of police. Reinforcements were rushed to the area and order restored, they said, adding two protesters were injured while some others were detained. The Kathua district administration said the anti-encroachment drive in Purab Chak village was necessitated after the illegal occupants on state land ignored multiple notices to stop construction work. "Failure to abide by notices to stop unauthorised construction prompted the action. Notices were served twice earlier, but work continued ..

Assam to create blocks, belts to protect satra land from encroachment

Sarma added that land pattas (deeds) would be provided to religious institutions, educational institutions and Anganwadi centres under the state's Mission Basundhara 3.0

Several monuments, archaeological sites under encroachment: Govt tells LS

A number of old monuments and archaeological sites in the country are "under encroachment", the government informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. Union Minister of Culture G Kishan Reddy said this in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha. He was asked about the centrally protected monuments and whether any study has been done to assess their present conditions. There are 3,697 ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains which have been declared of national importance, Reddy said. "Inspection of monuments and sites is taken up by the Archeological Survey of India's officials/officers from time to time to assess their condition," he said. In his response, he also shared the state-wise numbers of sites which are under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). To a query on whether several ancient monuments, archaeological sites and remains are under encroachment, he said, "A number of monuments and sites are under encroachment". "In case of encroachment, complaints a

Gujarat govt razes houses, 150 huts to free encroached Somnath temple land

A mega anti-encroachment drive was undertaken to clear around 3 hectares of land behind Somnath temple in Gujarat's Gir Somnath district that belonged to the temple trust and state government, officials said on Saturday. As many as 21 houses and 153 huts that had unauthorisedly come up were being demolished to clear the land belonging to Shree Somnath Trust, which manages the activities of the revered Somnath temple, and the state government, said Collector Harji Vadhvaniya. The mega demolition drive began Saturday morning in the presence of five mamlatdars' and around 100 revenue officials, Vadhvaniya said. Heavy police presence was also maintained to ensure that it went off peacefully, he said. The land, which measures 3 hectares (7.4 acres), will be cleared of encroachment and fenced as per a circular issued by the state revenue department, he said. Somnath temple is located in Prabhas Patan near Veraval town along the coast of the Arabian Sea. It is believed to be the first am

Take no action on notice to mosques for encroachment: Delhi HC to Railways

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Railways not to take any action pursuant to its notices pasted on two mosques on Tilak Marg and Babar Road for removal of "unauthorised" structures and "encroachment" from its land. Justice Prateek Jalan granted time to the central government counsel, on his request, to take instructions on the petition by the Delhi Waqf Board which claimed that the notices were "generic" and the two mosques Masjid Takia Babbar Shah near Railway Bridge on Tilak Marg and Masjid Bachchu Shah on Babar Marg, which is also known as Bengali Market Mosque, are not unauthorised and the land does not belong to the Railways. The court observed that the notices were not signed, did not mention the authority under which they were issued, and could be pasted on any structure. "What kind of a notice is this? Some generic thing is it being posted everywhere? The way it reads, it can be posted on any (building). It does not refer to any building, no date, no nothing,

Anti-encroachment drive starts near Lal Quila, Chandni Chowk metro stations

Authorities have begun a special anti-encroachment near various metro stations here as the national capital prepares to host the G20 summit in September. On Monday, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) started a comprehensive week-long drive in areas abutting Lal Quila and Chandni Chowk metro stations, officials said. The multi-agency drive in the densely populated areas involves the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, NDMC, Delhi Development Authority and Delhi Police, and will be staggered over next few days to ensure commuters do not face any hassle in accessing metro stations, they said. The drive near gate no. 1 and 2 of the Lal Quila metro station and gate no 5 of Chandni Chowk metro stations began on Monday and will be conducted daily till June 17, 2023. It has been observed that encroachments by parking of selling carts ('rehris'), vending objects, rickshaws, and other unauthorised establishments outside metro stations cause inconvenience to passengers at these locations. Th

Govt land in Mumbai will be freed of encroachment: Minister Lodha

Mumbai suburban district's guardian minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha on Friday said encroachment on government land throughout the city will be removed. As much as 1,000 sq meter of land was cleared of encroachment in Malwani area recently, he told reporters here. "The cleared land will be used for Indian sports. If government land has been encroached upon, bulldozers will be used,' he said.

After clearing 9,030 acres from encroachments, Punjab to intensify drive

With 9,030 acres of government land, cleared from encroachments, mainly by influential farmers, the Punjab government on Thursday announced that it would intensify the drive

Encroachments in name of 'land jihad' will not be allowed in U'khand: Dhami

Encroachments in the name of "land jihad" will not be allowed to vitiate the atmosphere of Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Friday, amid an ongoing statewide drive to remove illegally built structures from government land. Addressing the concluding session of the two-day meeting of the Vishva Hindu Parishad's (VHP) Kendriya Margadarshak Mandal here, Dhami said, "Uttarakhand shares its borders with two countries (China and Nepal). A particular community had illegally encroached land and raised structures in the border areas of the state which are being removed as part of a drive. "Illegal encroachments in the name of land jihad will not be allowed to vitiate the atmosphere in Uttarakhand", Dhami said. He said the state government has already appealed to encroachers to remove such structures on their own or the administration will demolish them. Last month, Dhami warned occupiers of illegally built mazars (tombs) to remove those on their own and reiterated tha

Delhi Metro starts special drive to clear encroachment outside 11 stations

The Delhi Metro has started a special drive to clear pedestrian pathways of vendors, encroachers and unauthorised hindrances caused by parking of e-rickshaws and auto-rickshaws at 11 of its stations, officials said on Friday. The drive is running since May 17. The endeavour to "provide seamless and easy access to passengers at its prominent Metro stations having Multi Modal Integration (MMI) facility," the Delhi Metro said in a statement. It is undertaking the special drive to clear pedestrian pathways from vendors, encroachers and unauthorized hindrances caused by parking of e-rickshaws, auto-rickshaws etc., at these stations, it added. The objective is to ensure safe and smooth flow of pedestrians, intermediate mode of transport and general traffic for proper utilization of MMI facilities available at these stations and to provide a barrier-free movement for commuters while entering or exiting from these Metro stations, the statement said. This special drive is being undertaken

All illegal encroachments in Uttarakahnd will be demolished: CM Dhami

All illegal encroachments in Uttarakhand will be demolished "at any cost", said Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday, adding that the state government will comply with court orders in the Haldwani case. "The drive to remove illegal encroachments is underway in the state and it will continue till all of them are removed," he told reporters at the secretariat here on Monday. Dhami said he expects people who have illegally encroached government land to vacate them on their own to avoid action against them. Answering a question on the alleged encroachments at Haldwani's Banbhoolpura area, the chief minister said "whatever is legally appropriate will be done". Any order or directive issued by the court on the matter will be complied with, he said. In December last year, the Uttarakhand High Court directed the removal of "illegal encroachers" in Banbhoolpura from land that the Indian Railways has claimed as its own. The Supreme Court later stayed the high court order to evict

JDA conducts anti-encroachment drive to free land valued at Rs 200 cr

The enforcement wing of Jaipur Development Authority on Monday carried out an anti-encroachment drive in Vidhyadhar Nagar area of Jaipur. The estimated market value of the land is around Rs 200 crore, Chief Controller- Enforcement (JDA) Raghuveer Saini said. The 7-8 bigha of land was illegally occupied by nine marble-granite dealers, seven scrap dealers, tea vendors and others. The occupants were issued notices on March 10 as a result of which some of the occupants removed their encroachment while the action to remove the other encroachment started early morning today with the help of JCB machines, he said. The land is located in zone 2, adjacent to AEN office in Vidhyadhar Nagar. Saini said the land was illegally occupied for the last 40-50 years.

T Raja asks Maha CM to follow footsteps of Yogi to demolish encroachments

Suspended BJP MLA from Telangana, T Raja Singh, on Sunday said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should imitate his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath and demolish illegal encroachments on government lands using bulldozers. Addressing a gathering in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, formerly Aurangabad, Singh said Shinde should ensure that encroachments from forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj are removed and he should be known as "bulldozer Shinde". He was addressing a gathering after a morcha was organised by Sakal Hindu Samaj in the city demanding a law against "love jihad". "The Maharashtra Chief Minister should follow the pattern set by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The encroachments on government lands should be identified and they should be removed by procuring 100 bulldozers," he said. Singh also said the encroachments from the forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj should be removed just like the tomb of Afzal Khan at the Pratapgad fort in Satara ...

DDA's anti-encroachment drive continues in Mehrauli for 2nd day

Residents of the area said that the DDA had demolished two three-storeyed buildings near the Aulia Masjid at Andheria Mor along with shanties

Anti-encroachment drive in J-K attempt to seize land, cause changes: PDP

The ongoing anti-encroachment drive in Jammu and Kashmir is another attempt to "seize our land and cause massive changes to our demography", the PDP claimed on Sunday, alleging the Centre has "prioritised" evicting people from their homes rather than addressing unemployment, and the safety of Kashmiri Pandits. In its monthly newsletter, 'Speak Up', released on Sunday, the party said that in the past three years "the only reforms we have received from the Centre are land laws because for GOI (government of India) it will always be about the land". "Even Ladakhis that were happy with the abrogation (of Article 370) are feeling buyer's remorse as they realize they've been duped by GOI. For over a year now, they have been demanding statehood and special status as per the 6th schedule. "Prior to the abrogation, Ladakhis had precedence over government jobs and land ownership rights. Their leaders have also finally acknowledged that they were much better off as a part of J-K," the party ..

LG assures no harm to common man in ongoing anti-encroachment drive in J-K

Amid growing concerns over the ongoing anti-encroachment drive, Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has assured people that the administration will safeguard the habitants and the livelihood of the common man. He dismissed as "misinformation" the claim that the common man will be impacted in the anti-encroachment drive launched last month across Jammu and Kashmir. The drive has drawn severe criticism from almost all major political parties and also triggered protests in certain pockets. "I want to assure the people that the administration will safeguard the habitations and livelihoods of the common man. Only influential and powerful people who misused their position and violated the law to encroach upon the state land would face the law of the land," Sinha said after inaugurating Civil Services Officers Institute (CSOI) here on Friday. "Only those people who have grabbed land illegally are facing eviction. I have personally directed the deputy commissioners and senior ...

Encroached state land being retrieved to benefit public: J-K administration

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Thursday said the encroached state land is being retrieved from the big "vested interests" only with the purpose of reverting it back for public use. Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta directed the Deputy Commissioners to safeguard the habitations and livelihoods of the poor and downtrodden. He was speaking in a meeting of Union Territory Divisional and District administration to take stock of measures being taken to streamline the anti-encroachment drive. Mehta maintained that these measures are aimed at helping common people. "This land belongs collectively to the masses and retrieved land shall be used for the benefit of all of them," he said. He said no person has any legal right to usurp the rights of commoners. The Chief Secretary pointed out that such measures should be supported by the public as the retrieved land shall be used for public utility such as hospitals, schools, play grounds, bus stands, Industries and parking spaces. "It