Ranchi Municipal Corporation begins clearing encroachments in city

RANCHI: Acting upon the recent direction of Jharkhand high court, Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) and the district administration on Thursday started an anti-encroachment drive to get rid of structures constructed on the catchment areas of water bodies in the city.
The officials have identified a total of 119 structures on the banks of Harmu river and on the catchment area of Kanke dam and they will be demolished within the next fortnight. Apart from that more such illegal structures are being identified and will be removed after following due procedures. On Thursday, they removed 23 illegal structures situated on the banks of Harmu river and Kanke dam.
Talking to TOI, the circle officer of Argora, Arvind Kumar Ojha, said: “A total of 81 structures have been identified in my area which have illegally come up on the areas adjoining the banks of Bhusur river. We have already issued notices to all of them and after they have failed to remove their illegal structures. We have removed a total of 18 in Hinoo area.”
Asked on what parameters are they qualifying a structure as illegal, Ojha said, “Any construction which has been done within the 15m radius of the river bed or a water body, which is considered as the catchment area, that has to be removed. This is being done as per provisions of the building by-laws and it will continue for some time now.”
In Kanke area, 15 illegal structures situated near the dam were removed. “We have identified a total of 38 structures in my area, of which 15 have been demolished and rest 19 too will be completed within a week,” an official said.
Meanwhile, a team of senior officials comprising Ranchi DC Chhavi Ranjan and RMC commissioner Mukesh Kumar visited the Harmu river stretch near Mukti Dham on Birsa Munda Rajpath in the morning and inspected the measurement being done by the government officials at the site. A few multi-storeyed buildings have been constructed on the both sides of Harmu river and the officials said that if any of the buildings are found to be in catchment area those will be demolished.
Meanwhile, the district administration team had to face ire of people in new Bandhu nagar area in Hinoo where around eight structures, which included a few houses, were demolished on Wednesday.
When TOI asked the residents, whose houses were demolished, about the land documents, they said that they weren’t given any when they purchased the land from middlemen as they had assured them that nobody will claim the land. “I had purchased 2.5 decimal land in Bandhu Nagar for Rs 2.5 lakh and have been living here for more than seven years. I had purchased the land as it was way cheaper than what I was getting in other parts of city,” said Surendra Singh whose house was also demolished during the eviction drive.
Vinita Kumari said that they didn’t know that it is government land and middlemen said that the land belonged to them so they had purchased it.