Rs. 25 crore land Reclaimed

• 38-gunta land located on Mysuru-Ooty NH-766 encroached upon by two brothers
• The brothers were running a pay & park facility and tea stall for over 15 years on Govt. land
• Mysuru Tahsildar Mahesh Kumar-led team clears illegally occupied land under Police protection

Mysore/Mysuru:  In an early morning operation today, the Mysuru Taluk Administration cleared encroachment on 38 guntas of land in Survey No. 87, Kasaba hobli, located at a prime spot along Mysuru-Ooty National Highway (NH-766).

The reclaimed land is estimated to be worth about Rs. 25 crore at the prevailing market value.

Tahsildar K.M. Mahesh Kumar told Star of Mysore that as per official notification No. LND (1) CR-280/2009-10 dated Aug. 30, 2010, the land had been reserved for the construction of a post-matric girls or boys’ hostel by the Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare Department.

After restoration and fencing of the property, the land will be handed over to the Department and a warning board will be installed to prevent fresh trespass. He added that the encroachment-clearance drive will continue in coming days too.

Includes a mantapa

The site, opposite JSS College for Arts, Science and Commerce, includes a mantapa built during the Maharaja’s rule, but owned by the Government. Two brothers had allegedly divided the land between themselves and converted it into a commercial space, earning rental income for several years.

While one portion of the land had been rented out for a tea stall, another functioned as a two-wheeler pay-and-park facility. Daily commuters travelling between Mysuru, Nanjangud and Chamarajanagar parked their vehicles there from morning to evening, paying Rs. 20 to Rs. 30 per day.

They had their own system where the vehicles could be parked using monthly passes.

Action sought

Recently, the District Officer of the Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare Department sought action from the District Administration to clear the illegal parking facility operating on the land.

At a Revenue Department progress review meeting held on Feb. 4, Additional Deputy Commissioner Dr. P. Shivaraju directed officials to clear village-land encroachments within the stipulated time and ensure reclaimed land is reserved for public purposes such as hospitals, anganwadi centres, student hostels, Ashraya houses and school expansion.

Acting on Deputy Commissioner G. Lakshmikanth Reddy’s instructions, Tahsildar Mahesh Kumar led a team comprising District Backward Classes Welfare Officer Raghavendra, Assistant Director of Land Records Chikkanna, Vidyaranyapuram Police Inspector Yogananjappa and Lakshmipuram Police Inspector Ravishankar in clearing the encroachment under heavy Police bandobast.

An earth-moving vehicle was used to remove zinc sheets surrounding the parking lot and clear weeds and shrubs. The tea stall, along with eatables, LPG cylinders, utensils, furniture and other installations, was cleared with the help of Taluk Office staff and the electricity connection was disconnected.

Meanwhile, the two brothers who claimed land ownership, attempted to produce documents, but officials refused to consider them as they were not the lawful owners of the land.