By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 10 Aug: Leader of the Opposition Yashpal Arya has said that the decision to remove the alleged encroachments on the roadside in Nainital district will render more than one thousand families homeless, so the state government should find a legal solution to save the livelihood of these families.
The Leader of the Opposition said that a delegation of the victims told him that, recently, in response to a letter from a resident of Delhi, the High Court had questioned the district administration on the bad condition of the highway due to encroachment from Khutani Mor to Padampuri in Nainital district. The letter mentioned that commercial establishments, shops and even temples have been built along the highway in Padampuri by encroaching on government and forest land. The court has sought answers from the District Magistrates and Divisional Forest Officers of all the districts regarding the encroachments.
Yashpal Arya said that the shopkeepers, restaurant and hotel owners, who have been living for years in the areas of Bhujiaghat, Dolmar, Dogaon, Ampadav, Naleena, Jeolikot, etc., are facing a threat to their livelihood. He said that on several roads, people have been running their shops over three-four generations and for 50-60 years.
Now, suddenly there is panic in the entire area due to the orders from various departments to remove their shops. He said that many of these buildings are built on lease and allotted government land. Many of these have received loans from banks and subsidies from governments under various schemes.
They have been given facilities like electricity and water. Even today, repayment of loans by many establishments is still going on. Under the circumstances, how can all of them be considered illegal?
Arya added that, in the name of removal of encroachments, similar news is coming from all over the state. People across the state cannot be oppressed in the name of removal of encroachments all at once.
The Leader of the Opposition said that it is the duty of the government to find ways of livelihood for the people of the state, instead it is destroying the livelihood of people who have been living for years at these places. He said that the government should firmly represent the troubled public before the court. The government should first allocate land to all of them and resettle them before taking action.
Arya said that, if needed, the government should issue ordinances and laws to save the people of the state from the wrath of the law. He said that even before this, the government had first brought an ordinance and then a law in the Vidhan Sabha to protect the settlements situated on the banks of the river in Dehradun from being removed by the order of the High Court. Now the government should find a middle way to save the livelihood of thousands of families across the state.
