The Government lands in prime locations of Baleswar town worth hundreds of crores of rupees have been encroached by influential and moneyed persons and they are not evicted due to the inertia of the district administration.
On other hand, the poor and landless persons who used Government land either for dwelling or eking out their livelihood were evicted without any consideration. This was alleged by president of Regional Truck Owners’ Association Amiya Ranjan Mohanty at a Press meet here.
He further alleged that the administration while spent about Rs 11.70 crore in last 7 years on account of carrying out evictions, no tangible action has been taken against the major encroachers , including hoteliers, bus and truck owners in the road between the FM Golai to the ITI square. Claiming that he has received all information through RTI, Mohanty said as many 1,540 rooms for trading purposes have been constructed illegally in the Bhaskarganj mouza itself. He further alleged several influential persons have grabbed more than one rooms in the valuable area. Due to sheer inaction of the district administration, the lands while are being occupied illegally whatsoever the administration did was just eyewash. The authorities sat tight only after serving notices to them, he alleged.
He further said that the tehsildar Baleswar took no action till date although she knew that a private engineering college on the way to Chandipur had encroached forest land. In the pretext of measuring and demarcating the land, she was only buying time, Mohanty charged.
Pointing finger towards a former chairperson of Balasore Regional Improvement Trust (BRIT) for financial embezzlement, he alleged that the district administration was nt recovering money over Rs 1.37 crore.
Mohanty further said that the district administration was showing undue favour to a tainted OAS officer posted in Nilgiri.