In a major crackdown, the Uttarakhand government has demolished 15 mazars (mausoleums) built illegally on forest land in Dehradun range, officials said.
The demolition is part of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s instructions to clear forest land of encroachment.
Earlier, the chief minister had instructed senior government officials to carry out a special drive to identify unauthorised mazars, mosques, temples, and churches that have come up on the government land.
“There are clear instructions that any kind of encroachment of forest land – be it residential, commercial, or religious – will not be tolerated. Strict action will be taken against such encroachers. All divisional forest officers (DFOs) have been instructed to clear forest land of encroachment,” said state forest minister Subodh Uniyal.
Officials of the Dehradun forest range had identified 17 such illegal mazars in its jurisdiction and have razed 15 such structures in different parts of the district.
Out of the 17 structures identified, officials did not take any action against two mazars as their respective administrative committees produced relevant documents to prove they were not constructed illegally.
Earlier this year, chief minister Dhami said that he was aware of mazars coming up on government land. “The government will not tolerate encroachments of its land and action will be taken against these mazars,” he had said at an event organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) magazines Organiser and Panchjanya in Delhi.
Weeks after his statement, state’s head of forest force and principal chief conservator of forest, Vinod Kumar wrote a letter to all DFOs, asking them to ensure that such illegal structures are not built on forest land.
In June, forest officials were asked to prepare a report on the illegal constructions on forest land after collecting relevant information from all 30 forest divisions in Uttarakhand.
According to local media reports, the Dhami government is also planning a similar
anti-encroachment drive to free other types of government land.