All illegal encroachments in Uttarakhand will be demolished "at any cost", said Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday, adding that the state government will comply with court orders in the Haldwani case.
"The drive to remove illegal encroachments is underway in the state and it will continue till all of them are removed," he told reporters at the secretariat here on Monday. Dhami said he expects people who have illegally encroached government land to vacate them on their own to avoid action against them.
Answering a question on the alleged encroachments at Haldwani's Banbhoolpura area, the chief minister said "whatever is legally appropriate will be done". Any order or directive issued by the court on the matter will be complied with, he said. In December last year, the Uttarakhand High Court directed the removal of "illegal encroachers" in Banbhoolpura from land that the Indian Railways has claimed as its own.
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The Supreme Court later stayed the high court order to evict the residents of Banbhoolpura. On Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed visit to Uttarakhand, Dhami said, "The Prime Minister is fond of Uttarakhand. People of the state also eagerly await his visits."
Dhami said people have responded positively to the prime minister's appeal to spend five per cent of their budget for the Chardham Yatra on buying local products during the pilgrimage, which is benefitting self-help groups and creating jobs for locals. The CM said the yatra to Yamunotri, Gangotri and Badrinath is going on smoothly but the journey to Kedarnath has witnessed several interruptions due to bad weather.
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Therefore, registrations for Kedarnath have been halted from time to time so that pilgrims do not have to face any inconvenience, he said. Arrangements will be made to ensure that every pilgrim bound for Kedarnath gets to visit the temple and offer prayers there, Dhami added.
