At least 30 temporary and semi-permanent structures were demolished on government land in Karaibari, near Milan Pally under Champasari gram panchayat in Siliguri on Tuesday, in a joint drive led by the Matigara block development officer (BDO), officials from the block land & land reforms department, and the police.
The eviction drive was carried out on nearly seven acres of land allegedly encroached upon by local individuals. “We found the land had been encroached upon, and around 30 makeshift structures were bulldozed. The land belongs to the state government, and action was taken to reclaim it,” said BDO Biswajit Das.
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He added that a notice board declaring the land as government property had gone missing, and that further steps would be taken to install signage again on the demarcated land. “We asked whether any mastermind was involved, but mostly common people were found on the land. We’ve advised those who are genuinely landless to approach the BDO office for applying for pattas,” Das said.
The action came just a day after BJP MLA from Matigara–Naxalbari, Anandamay Barman, raised the issue of illegal encroachments in the West Bengal Assembly. Drawing attention to alleged land grabs between Gulma Railway Station and Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Barman claimed that large stretches of state and forest department land had been illegally occupied, with even resorts built on them.
“These are valuable government and forest lands. I urged the state to take immediate action to prevent further illegal occupation,” Barman had said in the Assembly on 23 June.
Reacting to Tuesday’s eviction, Barman remarked, “I didn’t expect the state administration would take such prompt action.”
The BDO also warned that future encroachments would not be tolerated, and the administration would continue to act firmly to protect government land from illegal occupation.