Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The municipal corporation will be constructing 700 houses under Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) on land bearing Gut Numbers 216 and 217 in Harsul. The civic administration has evicted encroachers from the land designated for this project. In response, the affected citizens staged a protest by setting up a makeshift camp in front of the District Collector's office. Taking note of this, the municipal commissioner G Sreekanth has decided to provide each affected family a monthly rent of Rs 2,000 for 18 months.
While speaking to media persons, G Sreekanth said, “The District Collectorate had allocated the land in Harsul for the PMAY project. However, it was later discovered that there were extensive encroachments on the land. The encroachers were repeatedly requested to vacate the land, with promises made to prioritise them for housing under the scheme. Despite this, the encroachers did not heed the requests, prompting the authorities to take action. After this, the affected citizens began their protest. The contractor has been given an 18-month deadline to complete the housing project, during which 700 homes will be built. Furthermore, 5 per cent of the homes will be reserved for the encroachers. The municipal corporation will also provide Rs 2,000 per month as rent for the encroachers until the project is completed. This arrangement will only apply to the encroachers in Harsul and will not be implemented elsewhere.
180 encroachers affected
A total of 180 families had encroached on land in Harsul. On March 24, the municipal corporation removed all the huts from the area. The next day, when the municipal corporation’s anti-encroachment squad went to clear debris, they were met with stone pelting from the encroachers.
Financial Implications
The Municipal Corporation will provide Rs 2,000 per month to the encroachers in Harsul from a humanitarian perspective.
A total of Rs 3.60 lakh per month will be required for the 180 encroachers, which amounts to Rs 64.80 lakh over 18 months.
This is the first such decision in the history of the municipal corporation. Previously, encroachers were given land, but rent had never been provided before.