Encroachment tally leaves Karnataka govt in knots

In a span of six months, the number of encroached public properties worth several crores under the jurisdiction of gram panchayats saw a 94% drop, which has left the government baffled.

The surprise was not because officials worked with the desired swiftness in clearing the encroachments, but because they were unable to explain to their seniors the dramatic decrease in the number of encroachments.

Encroachment of gram panchayat properties is a major issue, especially around cities such as Bengaluru. Due to lack of proper data, the government is grappling with this problem. These properties include gramatana (revenue sites), public roads, canals, lakes, playgrounds, parks, cemeteries and civic amenity sites.

Sample this: In June 2019, after facing flak from the Legislature Committee on Subordinate Legislation, the Rural Development & Panchayat Raj (RDPR) department instructed all zilla panchayats to provide data on encroachment of gram panchayat properties. Subsequently, the number of encroached properties was reported as 27,743. This itself seemed murky as Vijayapura alone had over 22,000 encroachments.

Unhappy with the figures, the department asked for fresh, double-checked numbers.

On Monday, when the RDPR department reviewed the matter, the number of encroached properties was shown as 1,563. None could explain the mysterious drop in the encroachments, including officials from Vijayapura who now showed only 326 encroachments.

Apparently, the chief executive officer of the Vijayapura zilla panchayat said the numbers were fraught with a misconception as encroachments of revenue land that are not connected with gram panchayats were included.

“Still, the data does not say how the number of encroachments have come down dramatically. We’re not happy with the data; it does not properly account for everything,” a senior RDPR official said.

When contacted, RDPR principal secretary L K Atheeq said, “We are constantly reviewing this matter. We have given strict instructions to all CEOs to monitor the encroachment removal process by the gram panchayats.”

Strict instructions have been issued to identify encroachments and erect “notice boards” there. Gram panchayats are to also levy a penalty on encroachers.

Karnataka has 6,024 gram panchayats whose properties are currently under the Panchatantra database. To ensure they are managed better, the government is working on a project to digitise rural properties with the help of the Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Centre.