Drive against encroachment: Gorakhpur Corporation reclaims 2 acres from land sharks

Additional municipal commissioner Nirankar Singh stated that the precise extent of encroachment on municipal corporation land was still to be calculated.

As part of its ongoing drive against encroachers and land sharks, the municipal corporation on Friday reclaimed approximately two acres of land and demolished constructions valued at over ₹400 crore.

For representation only (HT File Photo)

Illegally occupying the land, grabbers had established a restaurant on Pipighanj Road. Similarly, in the village of Pipariya near Nausarh, land sharks had engaged in plotting and selling land. An influential land mafia was operating a car parking facility near City Mall in Civil Lines.

Additional municipal commissioner Nirankar Singh stated that the precise extent of encroachment on municipal corporation land was still to be calculated. However, the corporation initiated a drive to identify such land and eliminate encroachments.

Notices were issued to individuals who had purchased plots from private developers, and the corporation filed cases against three such land sharks: Upendra Singh, Rahul Yadav, and Arvind Yadav. In addition to this, grabbers had constructed a temple on a piece of land near Nakha bridge, and the corporation took possession of the land by removing the boundary wall.

Sources revealed that municipal corporation officials were colluding with some land grabbers, turning a blind eye to encroachments. Action was taken by the municipal corporation after some corporators raised the issue before municipal commissioner Gaurav Sogarwal last week. He directed assistant municipal commissioner Nirankar Singh to investigate the complaints, leading to the launch of the drive on Wednesday.