CMO summons Gurugram officer in connection with Aravalli encroachment

The chief minister’s office (CMO) has summoned the district development and panchayat officer (DDPO) of Gurugram in connection with the encroachment of panchayat land in Raisina, Bhondsi and Daulatabad, to ascertain the status of the cases. The villages are located in the foothills of the Aravallis.

Rakesh Gupta, additional principal secretary to Haryana chief minister, summoned the DDPO, Narender Sarwan, on July 26 after reviewing the complaints filed at the chief minister’s window. The complaints pertained to slow action being taken in the cases where the CMO officials had earlier marked inquiries.

Gupta said the DDPO has been summoned on August 3 and would present the status in the cases, following which he would review the progress.

Acting on a complaint filed at the CM Window, Gupta on May 30 had directed Gurugram deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh “to take possession of the land and file an FIR against builders who sold 46 acres of panchayat land” at Gairatpur Baas and Raisina villages in the foothills of the Aravallis.

A week after the directions from the CMO, Singh had ordered DDPO to take necessary action in the matter.

An inquiry by revenue officials had found that 46 acres of panchayat land in the foothills of Aravalli were encroached and allegedly illegally sold in 1983-84 to private parties, who have set up farmhouses there. According to officials, as many as 41 farmhouses and villas came up over a decade.

The farmhouses and villas, according to revenue department sources, belong to residents of Delhi and Mumbai, comprising politicians as well.

Narender Sarwan, the district development and panchayat officer, said, “The cases are under investigation and I will present their status on August 3 (to the official).”

A district administration official privy to the matter said 49 cases have been filed in the Raisina issue.

The complainant in Gairatpur land matter, RL Narula, an advocate and a resident of Gurugram’s Sector 14, said the district administration officials are not serious about taking action. “I wrote to the CMO, DC office and other authorities last week, seeking high-level vigilance inquiry in the matter.”