Demolition drive in Khori village to start any day now, all preparations done, say district officials

A month after the Supreme Court directed the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) to “remove encroachments” from “forest land” in the district’s Khori village area, officials from the district administration and civic body said on Thursday that all preparations have been made for the task which is likely to be carried out “anytime” now.

According to officials, four duty magistrates have already been appointed, with another kept in reserve. Similarly, 10 teams have been formed, with one in reserve, each of which have one “in-charge” and one police officer.

“All preparations are done to carry out the demolition drive in the Khori area as per the directions of the Supreme Court. The work will start anytime now. Section 144 has already been imposed in the area, and duty magistrates have also been appointed. In addition, police personnel have also been deployed as per the requirement,” the deputy commissioner said.

Officials added that when the demolition activity is carried out, a team from the health department will also be deployed there.

“The senior medical officer from UPHC Sehatpur will be present. 10 ambulances with life-saving equipment will also be there,” chief medical officer Dr Randeep Singh Punia informed.

“The senior medical officer will also have 500 Covid testing kits so that people can also be tested regularly,” he added.

MCF commissioner Dr Garima Mittal said, “The orders of the Supreme Court will be followed under any circumstances. The district administration, MCF, and police are working together to ensure this. People who want to transport their goods from the village have been provided trucks. In addition, if any buyer of building materials or scrap dealer is interested in buying things in the area, they can avail this facility under police security.”

Officials added that keeping in mind that monsoon is round the corner, a temporary shelter home has also been set up for the Khori residents.

On June 7, the Supreme Court had directed the MCF to “remove encroachments on the subject forest land without any exception”, and gave the civic body a time of six weeks to complete the task. The time ended on July 19.

Following the court’s directions, clashes have repeatedly broken out in the village between police and residents, with the most recent one on June 30 when the latter were stopped from holding a mahapanchayat.

Residents have also started submitting complaints to police against the people who sold them the land on which they built their houses. Police officials said that, so far, a total of 25 FIRs have been registered regarding such incidents where government land was fraudulently sold to the residents.