Encroachment has become a major problem for the denizens in the city. Now, things have come to such a pass that even the Government lands are being encroached by the politicians, local leaders, well-known seers and of course, builders.
After gazette notification issued from the office of the Governor in 1962 and endorsed thereafter by President of India, BHEl Haridwar Act was enforced.
With that, Bharat Heavy Electrical limited (BHEl) Haridwar came into existence and 3,522 acre of land was transferred to the company by the State Government. Consequently, Heavy Electricals Equipment Plant (HEEP) was established to accelerate production and fulfill the requirements of heavy electrical equipments of the country.
Notably, BHEl is a Central Government-owned limited company and 51 per cent of the shares of BHEl Haridwar are with the Centre.
In 1970s, Bharat Heavy Electricals limited Haridwar started production and as the time passed, BHEl Haridwar made many benchmarks through its unique type of production.
If sources are to be believed, since 2000 after Uttarakhand came up as a State, influential builders and politicians kept eyeing the BHEl land.
With the administration remaining lethargic, the land sharks became hyper-active. Some BHEl officials proved complicit in such rampant encroachment.
Atul Kumar Saxena, township administrator/additional general manager, told The Pioneer that at present about 10 acre of land is marked as encroached. They are being used as temples and parks.
Besides, 9.5 acre of BHEl land is under disputed category and the matter is with district administration for further clarification. This, despite the fact that the land rests with BHEl as per records, fictitious papers are being conjured up by the local realtors with the help of patwari, lekhpal and other concerned personnel of land department of State Government. BHEl lands are being sold to the new comers to the city with impunity.
Saxena added that he had taken charge of the township administrator in April 2014.
Most of the disputes are long-standing, he said. However, he is taking all possible steps to clear these lands of the encroachers, he claimed.
Saxena further said that he had written several times to district magistrate and sub- divisional magistrate of Haridwar, seeking their help. Recently, he has written regarding the encroachment of BHEl land by some parshad of Municipal Corporation Haridwar, seeking help from the district administration and the police department. But nothing has happened, he rued.
One BHEl employee said on condition of anonymity that cases of theft and chain snatching are on the rise due to unauthorised entry and heavy encroachment. We are being stopped by our seniors not to lodge complaints at the police stations and be more alert instead. Now it is difficult to distinguish a staffer from a robber, he said.
It may be mentioned that one unit of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) remains deployed in the premises of BHEl Haridwar to assist the security gruards whose strength is over 450. But still the encroachment is continuing.