The State Government will fix monthly targets for officials to remove encroachment on government property across Karnataka, said Minister for Revenue Krishna Byre Gowda.
On August 8, the Minister told reporters in Mysuru that the administration will take up a campaign against encroachment of government land and give targets to officials to ensure that the encroachment is cleared. A meeting with officials regarding encroachment of government land in Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural districts was held on August 7. As data on encroachment was already available, officials had been told to submit by August 12 a time-table for removing the encroachments.
“We have told them to give a commitment on how many days it will take for them to clear the encroachments. The eviction should happen as per the time table they draw up,” he said.
A similar model for clearing encroachment of government land will be adopted across Karnataka. Whether it is lake or any other government land, the exercise to remove the encroachment will be taken up as a campaign, he said before adding that the government is beginning the drive from Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural districts, where a large volume of valuable government land had been encroached.
Not only will officials be given a free hand, the government will bring pressure on them to act against encroachments, he said.
When pointed out that government land had been encroached mostly by influential people, Mr Gowda said he had not come under pressure so far. But, even if pressure is exerted, he said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has given clear instructions to act against encroachment without fear or favour.
Mr Gowda, who was in Mysuru to review work in Mysuru division, said a large number of land-related cases were pending in the courts of tahsildars, assistant commissioners and deputy commissioners.
“We need to dispose them off as expeditiously as possible so that people need not keep visiting government offices. The officials will be directed to dispose them off as expeditiously as possible,” he said.
He said the Government will consider resumption of Kandaya Adalats, held during the previous Congress regime, to dispose off routine cases.
Though a large number of people managed to get relief at Kandaya Adalats, several complicated cases could not be disposed off, as they required arguments by advocates.
