90 pc encroachments razed in Dehradun locality

An anti-encroachment demolition drive was continued in the Premnagar locality here for the second consecutive day Saturday with 90 per cent illegal constructions razed to the ground, officials said.

Around 200 shops have been pulled down in Premnagar since Friday as part of the drive being carried out in compliance with an Uttarakhand High Court order.

Most of the shops razed to the ground belong to Punjabi migrants who settled in the area after partition.

BJP MLA from Cantt area Harbans Kapoor met Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to draw his attention to the demolition and suggested steps to be taken to rehabilitate the affected people like opening new industrial estates and providing them new self-employment opportunities.

The chief minister assured him the government will not allow anyone to be harmed, an official release here said.

"The city will be made fully free of encroachments. People who feel parts of their houses or business establishments have been wrongly earmarked for demolition can approach the legal committee of the task force engaged in the exercise with their complaints," Additional Chief Secretary Om Prakash said.

He also asked the task force to conduct re-survey of areas where the drive has already been completed and immediately demolish structures found encroaching upon public spaces like footpaths and streets.

Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority Secretary PC Dumka said the task force personnel of all four zones have demolished 90 per cent of illegal constructions in Premnagar so far and the process to remove the rest is also underway.