Koraput: Government land in Koraput town and other areas of the district are getting squeezed day by day as encroachment is increasingly posing a threat in the district.
Indifference of the district administration towards this illegal activity is encouraging the encroachers. Situations have come to such a pass that land may not be available for governmental projects in Koraput district in future days.
It is known hundreds of acres of government land in Dhepasahi, Housing Board Colony, Railway Station Area, Railway Colony, Pump House Area, Sunapur, Old Koraput Town, Broiler Farm Area, Rathasharma Colony, Kanak Durga Mandir, Bana Bharati, Hatapada, Hati Line, RTO Colony of Koraput town are under the clutch of encroachers.
According to tehsil sources, only 1,632 encroachment cases have been filed so far in Koraput town alone. On the other hand, as per a private estimate, there are over 3,500 land encroachments on which governmental facilities have been availed.
It was alleged that electricity connections, water supply, road communication facility have been made available to encroachers by the civic authorities. More so a provision of giving government pattas has proved to be a boon for the encroachers in Koraput district.
It may be noted that there were over 20 acres of government land at Bana Bharati and Hatapada areas of Koraput town including a kine (enclosure for stray cattle) at Hatapada locality.
There is no trace of these lands where multistoried buildings have come up. Many of the encroachers have rented out the houses built on government land and earn handsomely, reports said.
Moreover, nearby areas of Dadhichi Line, Hati Line, Koraput Jail, Bata shop including an acre of land of the district headquarters hospital (DHH) in housing board area have been encroached. The hospital authorities and the district administration are silent on this matter.
Similarly, the works department was given 21 acres of land in 2014 for construction of a medical college. Out of this, the college was constructed on 18.5 acres while the remaining 2.5 acres are encroached upon.
Notably, there is a proposal for building a cancer unit on Koraput medical campus with an expenditure of Rs 50 crore. Non-availability of adequate land has hindered the project.