After the allegations that the government land in the district was being wrongfully grabbed and cleared for developing into a resort, the district administration has stopped the commissioning of the project. The action followed complaints from the local population, on which the authorities acted to halt all current work on the spot in Barari village.
Preliminary reports state that a number of trees on government owned land were allegedly felled with nearly 70 dismil of the estate reportedly being used for a resort. This came on to the fore when complaints were lodged with district administration and the District Collector took necessary action immediately. All construction work has now been halted as a full investigation is underway.
The main person, Khub Lal Dhruv, resident of the Barari village has said that the land has been under his possession almost for four decades. He stated that he was “displaced” by submergence and he has been in occupancy of the property ever since. Dhruv added that he would also cooperate with the authorities and accept any legal action of the administration.
A number of questions of land ownership and permissions have arisen from the case. Police are investigating if the property is set aside for the Government and whether any approvals were applied for in regard to the proposed construction of the building. Investigators are also looking to see if permission to cut trees was granted prior to development work.
Local residents have been asking for vigorous measures to be taken if they are discovered, saying public lands and natural resources have to be kept from illegal encroachment. It is known that a proper investigation will be carried out, and necessary actions will be taken according to the results of the investigation.
Construction is in a standstill for now while proceeds of this and forest department officials are cross-checking the land and environmental clearances and looking into legality of operations on the site.