By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
HARIDWAR 2 Aug: A special drive has been launched by Uttarakhand government to clear and evict illegal settlements along the banks of the Ganga and the Gang Canal. The government has persistently raised concerns with the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department regarding these unauthorised encroachments. The riverbed property, though administered in principle by Uttar Pradesh, legally belongs to Uttarakhand under a prior property division arrangement between the two states. This administrative anomaly has contributed to rampant encroachment over the years.
Allegations have been made implicating certain officials from the UP Irrigation Department in illicit transactions involving the government land. Sources claim that the UP government has finally taken cognisance of these allegations and has directed its Irrigation Department to serve eviction notices to those who have encroached upon land reserved for the Kumbh Mela. Local residents raise an alarm regarding the scale of non-stop ongoing encroachments along both the Ganga and the Gang Canal which have turned into a serious administrative concern for Haridwar. The situation has been further aggravated by the fact that while the ownership of irrigation land in question in Haridwar is of Uttarakhand but the administrative control currently lies with UP’s Irrigation Department. There have been claims that unchecked spread of unauthorised settlements has also resulted in a significant demographic shift in the sacred city, raising questions about the identity and origin of the settlers and the motives behind these occupations. Observers claim political patronage and vote-bank politics as primary reasons behind this development. As a result, the traditionally revered character of Haridwar as a Sanatan Ganga Nagari is allegedly being compromised, both in terms of aesthetics and social fabric.
It may also be recalled here that a significant share of the encroachments is on the land originally allotted to Sanatan Akharas during the previous Kumbh Mela. With preparations for the 2027 Kumbh already underway and with developmental projects such as the Haridwar-Rishikesh Corridor already in progress, these encroachments have emerged as significant impediments to infrastructure planning and execution. Official communication from the district administration has identified these unauthorised occupations on the UP Irrigation land as obstacles to Haridwar’s development, prompting the Uttarakhand Government to initiate fresh correspondence with its counterpart in Uttar Pradesh.
On the directions of Haridwar District Magistrate Mayur Dixit, departments concerned have also begun serving notices to vacate encroachments on Mela-designated land. In particular, efforts to clear the Bairagi Camp Mela reserved area have led to considerable unease among encroachers.
