The Hindu : Front Page : Deputy Collectors to be land custodians

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Saturday, Jun 02, 2007
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Deputy Collectors to be land custodians

Special Correspondent

K.P. Rajendran says 2,774 encroachments have been evicted so far.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran said here on Friday that a Deputy Collector in each district would be designated as the custodian of Government land resumed from encroachers.

The tahsildars and village officers would be estate officers at the taluk and village level respectively. Government land would be protected as a land bank and put to gainful use.

The Minister said so far 2,774 encroachments had been evicted across the State and 669.39 acres had been resumed, including 441.45 acres in Idukki district. More than 6,500 notices had been issued in districts other than Idukki, Pathanamthitta and Kozhikode alone.

Mr. Rajendran said the lack of proper records on Government land had abetted encroachments. A conference of Collectors and Revenue officials held here on Friday had been told to keep proper records and publish them. Notices should be put up on every Government land showing the area and warning against encroachments. All encroachers would be prosecuted.

The Collectors had also been told to gear up `suit cells' at the Collectorates, as hundreds of cases were being filed challenging the evictions. A special task force would be formed for Kunnathur taluk in Kollam district to deal with encroachments on Sasthamcotta lake and other areas, the Minister said.

Denying reports that he had reprimanded a few Collectors at the conference, the Minister said he had only told them that notices should not be served for eviction of Martyr's columns such as the one at Chandanathoppu in Kollam district and similar structures.

No direction had been issued to discontinue evictions on M.G. Road in Ernakulam.

The Collectors had been instructed to hear complaints about evictions and the duration of cells formed in Collectorates to attend to complaints had been extended.

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