By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 21May: District Magistrate Savin Bansal chaired a meeting at the Collectorate auditorium here today at which the discussion focussed on the removal of illegal and unauthorised religious structures in the district, following Supreme Court directives in this regard. Bansal instructed the departments concerned to conduct surveys and identify such structures within their respective areas and submit a report to the district administration within three days.
The DM also directed the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (Doon Nagar Nigam), other municipal bodies in the district, Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA), all the tehsils in the district and various other related departments to conduct a fresh survey of their properties and identify any unauthorised religious structures.
The DM said that the departments must submit a written report to the district administration within three days. Even if no such cases are found, a written declaration confirming this must be provided to facilitate the compilation of a final report for the government. Bansal also cautioned against any negligence in this high-priority task, stating that if any unauthorised religious structures are found on departmental assets later, the departmental officer concerned will be held personally responsible. He also set a deadline for the removal of identified illegal structures on departmental properties, ordering swift action. Emphasising strict enforcement, he asserted that irregularities would not be tolerated.
During the meeting, the Superintending Engineer (SE) of the Irrigation Department reported that, out of seven illegal constructions on irrigation department properties, five have already been removed. Notices have been issued for the removal of the remaining illegal structures on the Badripur and Kargi canals, and that the demolition exercise in this respect is expected soon. The Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) informed him that survey work at the Tehsil level has been completed, and reports will be submitted shortly. The officials from the forest department stated that three illegal structures in reserved forest areas were removed earlier, and currently, there are no remaining unauthorised structures in forest areas.
Among those present at the meeting included Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Jai Bharat Singh, SDM Hari Giri, SDM Apoorva, Additional Municipal Commissioner Hemant Kumar Verma, SE Irrigation Sanjay Rai, Executive Engineer NHIDCL Suresh Tomar, SDFO Uday N Gaur, Shipra Sharma and Anil Singh Rawat besides various other officers from all the departments concerned.
