Over 3.10 lakh sq m of govt land encroached

Noting with alarm that over 3.10 lakh sq m of government land has been encroached, a Parliamentary panel has asked Central Public Works Department (CPWD) to fix responsibility on officials concerned.
In its 26th report, the standing committee on Urban Development said that in a reply in March, the UD ministry informed that the total area under encroachment is 193434.56 sq m. However in a reply on August 12, the ministry said that the the total encroachment area is 310818.95 sq m.
"The committee is alarmed to note that the total area of government land under encroachment in all the states and Union territories has been increased from 193434.56 sq m in the month of March, 2013 to 3,10819 in the month of August, 2013," the panel said.

It rejected the UD ministry's reply that there is no specially designated manpower with CPWD for checking illegal occupation of government land and added that as per CPWD manual, the duty to is cast on the Junior Engineer or Assistant Engineer concerned.
"The committee is of the view that if the junior engineer or assistant engineer concerned performs his duties honestly and diligently, then it will become impossible for the encroachers to lay on the government land," the panel said in its report.
The panel said it has been insisting on fixing responsibility on the officers whose negligence has resulted in encroachment. It added that the UD ministry tries to downplay the matter by saying that since the encroachment dates back to 10 to 20 years, it is not possible to fix responsibility.

The committee said that 10 to 20 years is not such a long period and insisted that the Ministry should fix responsibility after digging the old cases and if connivance of officials is proved, punishment should be inflicted.