Nakodar dera encroachment: CMO asks department to take action

JALANDHAR: The Punjab chief minister's office (CMO) has asked the principal secretary, local government to take necessary action on a complaint by a Nakodar resident that a park developed by a dera (sect) by encroaching on public property be opened for general public.
According to the complainant, the dera has encroached public property by filling around 30-40 kanal area of centuries old ponds, measuring around 90 kanal in the township.

The CM's office wrote to the principal secretary on December 14, 2017 while referring to a complaint sent by Gaurav Jain, who has been pursuing the issue with the local authorities for the last several months.

In his complaint of November 26, 2017, he had cited a Punjab and Haryana high court order, which directed all the deputy commissioners of Punjab to take back land from persons who were in illegal possession of the lands belonging to the state.

The Nakodar sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) had also written to the MC executive officer on November 30 last year, pointing out that seven letters had been sent to the executive officer since May 2017.

The SDM mentioned that a response was sought on the issue by June 21, 2017 but there was no response to the letters.

When contacted, Nakodar MC executive officer Surjit Singh said it was an old encroachment and they were still collecting details of how and when it happened. Asked if any action was being taken to open the park for public, he said they were still examining the matter.

In his complaint to the CM, Jain said the park had been developed in the last couple of years by a dera.

He mentioned that he wrote to the Punjab government officials about the encroachment but no action was taken.

He had also sought penalty for officials who failed to take any action and allowed illegal squatting to expand on a huge chunk of land "on the historic talaab in the town".

"Now, when a park has been developed by a filling the talaab (which is an illegal act) at least this should be opened for the general public," he said. Jain revealed that apart from writing to local officials recently he also wrote to local government minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and secretary of the department also.

"I also submitted in writing to the Nakodar sub divisional magistrate and Jalandhar deputy commissioner after my pleas to the MC did not work," he said.