Eviction of encroachers from airstrip ordered

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Nov 21: Airports Authority of India officials today met the Malda district magistrate seeking administrative help to evict encroachers from the land earmarked for Malda airstrip in English Bazaar town.

The district magistrate, Mr Sridhar Ghosh, asked the AAI officials to issue eviction notice to the encroachers mentioning a stipulated timeframe to vacate the land owned by the AAI.

The decision was taken today at an emergency meeting convened by the district magistrate with the concerned officials where political leaders and civic body representative were also present.

Mr Subhendu Choudhury, the CPI-M MLA from Old Malda, and English Bazaar Congress MLA Mr Krishnendu Choudhury were also present in the meeting to ascertain the modalities for the proposed eviction drive.

The DM is, however, against evicting some families who received ‘deed of right’ from the refuge rehabilitation department. The RR department had once officially ‘acquired’ the land from the AAI along the present railway tracks and distributed deeds of right to some displaced families. A few of the residents have valid papers from the English Bazaar Municipality including mutation papers.

“We are against the encroachers but in favour of those who got papers from the RR department,” said Mr Subhendu Choudhury, the CPI-M MLA.

The district magistrate Mr Ghosh told reporters: “We have asked the AAI officials to issue notice to the encroachers. We will take steps after the notification and after observing the reaction of encroachers. The administration would not evict residents possessing deeds of right.”