land grabbling topping the list of complaints being received from the people by the district administration, the newly appointed District Magistrate SA Murugeshan, said on Thursday that a mechanism would be developed soon to effectively and promptly deal with such cases. “However, we are now referring such cases to the Tehsildars concerned or the sub-divisional magistrates concerned,” he said while talking to The Pioneer. He further said that it would take him some time to delve deep into the incidence of land grabbing that is happening thick and fast with the common people being at the receiving end of the fraudulent land deals.
The problem is enormous and keeping it in view, a suitable mechanism must be evolved so that the Government machinery acts promptly and effectively to clamp down on the fraudsters,” he said.
Murugeshan further informed that he had received a clutch of public complaints on land-grabbing from Vikasnagar Tehsil and Tehsil Sadar (civil) on Thursday itself. “The complaints have been sent to SDM and Tehsildar concerned to address them. I am receiving such complaints galore almost daily when I meet the people at the Collectorate. Things assuming grim proportions, I would soon convene a meeting with the district officers who are now dealing land- related cases to evolve a suitable system to stamp out the menace,” he said.
Observers opine that since the time Dehradun turned into the capital of the State, the prices of lands here have been sky-rocketing. “Quantum of lands being limited and the demand growing by leaps and bounds, the land sharks have stepped into the scene to dupe the buyers in the form of selling lands through forged documents. left in the lurch, the duped people approach administration and police in desperation. However, the law- enforcers prove apathetic in many cases with a section of them seemingly having a share of the pie. DM must be aware of the murkiness involved in many of the land deals. If he can evolve a system to take on the land mafias it would be a good step. Acting here and that would not solve the problem. A well-thought- out strategy and an effective mechanism is the need of the hour.