The State government on Wednesday directed bureaucrats to clear encroached government lands and auction them in Bengaluru.
The directions by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, at a meeting of Deputy Commissioners and CEOs of zilla panchayats in Bengaluru, is seen as an attempt by the government to raise resources for development works amidst financial crisis following the pandemic.
“Encroachments have been cleared with respect to only 2.70 lakh acres of government lands though a total of 14.18 lakh acres have been encroached in the State,” the Chief Minister noted. He directed the officials concerned to clear government lands worth crores of rupees in Bengaluru and then auction them.
The regional commissioners were given the responsibility of identifying encroached government land in their jurisdiction and initiating measures to clear encroachments.
The physical meeting of regional commissioners, Deputy Commissioners of all the districts and CEOs of zilla panchayats was held to gear up administrative machinery and also to review implementation of various government schemes.
Mr. Yediyurappa, who presided over the meeting, issued stern direction that all the officials right from Deputy Commissioner to village accountant should visit villages regularly. He also fixed the responsibility of ensuring the success of campaign to convince people to take COVID-19 vaccine on bureaucrats. Even as the anti-cow slaughter Ordinance has evoked mixed reactions, he issued directions to the bureaucrats to take strict measures for the effective implementation of the legislation.
Among other issues, the chief minister also directed the officials to ensure that the children who have opted out of schools during the COVID-19 period are brought back to schools. He also asked them to prevent child marriages which have increased in the wake of suspension of schools due to pandemic.
He also directed the officials to identify villages that could face water shortage during summer and prepare an action plan for quenching the thirst during the dry season. Similarly, the deputy commissioners were asked to immediately resolve 14,000 cases related to land acquisition with respect to the National Highway Authority of India. He also directed them to speed up the process of providing flood relief with respect to rebuilding of damaged houses.
Show visible development, bureaucrats told
Mr. Yediyurappa on Wednesday asked bureaucrats to show visible development, especially with respect to implementation of various welfare measures, as the state has already lost about 10 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He asked them to speed up the pace of implementation of development works to make up for the lost time.
