Dhenkanal: Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari has asked the Dhenkanal district administration to launch a drive to identify the government lands which have been encroached and clear those in three months. At a review meeting held at Collectorate conference hall on Saturday, Pujari asked the administration to identify the influential people who have encroached on government lands, evict them as soon as possible and put it on government records.

The meeting also discussed the issue of poor people encroaching on government lands. Responding to it, Pujari said as per government procedure, the district administration can register those encroached lands in the name of the poor people by evicting lands encroached by the influential people. The poor and landless people should be given lands on priority, he said.

Some industries and organisations have acquired lands and these lands have remained unutilised for years together. Such units should be issued notice and action taken as as per government policy, Pujari said. The administration must open Land Bank from block to district levels. The officers must protect government property failing which they will be held accountable, he added.

The minister sought to know the challenges being faced while sanctioning one ‘guntha’ land to the poor under the government scheme. The officers said many outsiders have encroached on government lands in Kankadahada block.

Parjang MLA Bibhuti Bhusan Pradhan, Hindol MLA Simarani Nayak, Kamakshyanagar MLA Satrughan Jena and District Collector Somesh Kumar Upadhyay were present at the meeting.