District officials reclaim Rs 12 crore worth govt land in Khammam city

Collector VP Gautham cautioned that encroachment of any government land against the rules would not be tolerated.

Khammam: Strict measures were being taken to protect and prevent encroachment of government lands, informed district Collector VP Gautham.

He said that 4.08 acres of land in survey number 94 at Khanapuram Lakaram Bund in the city was allotted to the Horticulture Department for setting up a Farmer Training Centre in the year 2009. The department kept the land vacant without undertaking any construction.

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Two individuals, B Veera Reddy and Ram Reddy have encroached upon the land and built sheds on the land. The sheds were removed and taken over by the government. Measures for the protection of government land worth about Rs 12 crore have been taken up by the Revenue and Municipal Departments, the Collector said.

Gautham informed that fencing was erected around the land and a sign board was set up indicating it as government land. CCTV cameras have been installed to prevent any further constructions and encroachment of the land.

He cautioned that encroachment of any government land against the rules would not be tolerated. A thorough investigation would be conducted and action would be taken as per law against the perpetrators.

It might be noted that the district administration has recently constituted a task force committee along with four land protection teams with revenue, police, irrigation and municipal officials to protect government lands.

The committee and land protection teams tasked to identify the government lands, regularly inspect the respective lands besides taking measures to prevent encroachment of such lands.