Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) opposes with all its strength when there is an anti-encroachment drive in Delhi. But now, when it comes to Punjab where it recently came to power, AAP is aggressively enforcement the anti-encroachment drive.
Rural Development and Panchayat Minister KS Dhaliwal has stated that the Punjab administration, under the directives of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, has set a target to get illegal encroachments vacated. He added that the drive will commence this month.
Minister Dhaliwal further noted that the AAP Punjab administration had set a target for officials to get illegal encroachments vacated from 5,000 acres of panchayat land in the state. He added that the administration would take out a special drive across the state against illegal encroachments. Speaking to the media regarding the same, he stated that the government would bulldoze the illegal constructions in panchayat land provided the owners don’t pay for it.
“We’ve decided to remove encroachment from panchayat land. We decided to start this drive from this month,” minister KS Dhaliwal told ANI. “First, we’ll request all those who have constructed illegal houses or structures to vacate them or pay for them, otherwise be ready for bulldozer,” the AAP leader added.
Earlier, the minister had stated that the Punjab government will remove encroachments on its land without any discrimination.
This comes only days after the Arvind Kejriwal-led party slammed the BJP administration for carrying out anti-encroachment drives at Shaheen Bagh and Jahangirpuri in the national capital.
Meanwhile, Chandigarh Local Administration carried out a demolition drive against the illegal constructions and encroached areas on Sunday. Section 144 was also imposed in the area to avoid any chaos during the demolition drive. The special demolition drive was done in colony number 4, where the local administration demolished the slum area where over 3000 people lived.
The administration ran a demolition drive and removed all the slums in the area. To make sure that the law-and-order situation remains in control during the demolition drive, over one thousand police personnel were deployed in the area. It is pertinent to mention that, the local administration had removed the water and electricity connections days before the drive and also informed, the people who were living in colony number 4 about the demolition drive.
The administration though demolished the slum area, but it also provided permanent houses in the Maloya area in Chandigarh for rehabilitation to those whose shelters were demolished.
