IEP Chandigarh, May 24
Rolling the wheels for removing illegal encroachments on the government land, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday gave an ultimatum to the encroachers of government land to vacate the encroachments by May 31 or face the action. In a statement issued here today, the Chief Minister said that the state government is committed for freeing the land from illegal encroachments. He bemoaned that during the tenure of the successive governments in the state, the affluent people had illegally encroached the precious government land by violating the norms, which is unwarranted and undesirable. However, Bhagwant Mann said that from day one after assuming the charge of office, his government had adopted a zero tolerance policy towards illegal encroachments. The Chief Minister said that it is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that the state government has so far freed more than 9000 acres of government land from the illegal encroachers. He said that this momentum will be continued further and every inch of government land under illegal encroachment will be vacated by all means. Bhagwant Mann asked the illegal encroachers to vacate the land under their possession by May 31 else the government will get it freed on its own. The Chief Minister said that a massive anti-encroachment drive by the state government will be started from June 1 to remove these encroachments. He said that no one, however affluent he may be, will be spared during this drive to be started in larger public interest. However, Bhagwant Mann categorically said that people residing on such land, if any, should not worry as they will not be dislocated during the drive.
