Alleging that the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) regime had failed to take any action on complaints of land-grabbing across the State, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday said the constitution of special cells to look into these cases at the State police headquarters as well as in each district was a sign of hope for those who had lost their land.
In a statement here, she said instances of land-grabbing and forced sale of land were rampant during the DMK regime between 2006 and 2011. “That was why the manifesto of the AIADMK made a promise to retrieve lands grabbed by the DMK men and mercenaries and return them to the owners,” she said.
Ms. Jayalalithaa said the government had received as many as 1,449 complaints of land-grabbing till July 1 and the numbers were increasing, making it impossible for the police stations to handle the cases.
This situation, she said, had led to the constitution of special cells to deal with land-grabbing cases and these cells would deal with the complaints of land-grabbing and forced sale of lands between 2006 and 2011.
Ms. Jayalalithaa said the culprits would be brought to book and the lands would be return to the owners.
In the Governor's address in June, the government had said, “During the previous regime, many persons were wrongfully dispossessed of their immovable properties through force and intimidation. This government has decided to take appropriate action and restore such properties to the rightful persons by enacting a new Act.”
Several suspects involved in alleged grabbing of land have been arrested in recent days, including some DMK functionaries. DMK president M. Karunanidhi has alleged that its members were being arrested across the State on foisted cases.
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