Illegal land dealings -- State to formulate policy

Illegal land dealings -- State to formulate policy
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

PUNE, MARCH 18: State Agriculture Minister Ranjit Deshmukh, who is also chairman of the Cabinet sub-committee set up to formulate a policy on increasing unauthorised constructions on small plots around cities, on Saturday said the Government was seriously thinking to initiate criminal proceedings against persons involved in illegal selling and purchasing of land.

Addressing a meeting of civic officials and peoples' representatives in the Pune revenue division, Deshmukh said the committee would make a few hard suggestions to curb the growing trend in urban areas. He said the Government would take a humanitarian approach while regularising the existing constructions as most of the people using them were from the middle class. He, however, said the Government would take all steps to ensure that a feeling was not gained among the developers that such illegal constructions would be regularised after paying some penalty.

He said the committee would give a serious thought to the suggestion that criminal action should be initiated against the developers involved in unauthorised constructions. The minister asked all the Government agencies and local self bodies to be alert to prevent such illegal constructions.

The committee had held similar meetings at Mumbai and Nagpur earlier while the next meeting will take place at Aurangabad, after which the report will be submitted to the Government. The meeting was attended by several ministers, MLAs of the revenue division and civic officials.