State protected monuments must be immediately freed of encroachments! – Hindu Janajagruti Samiti

Why are the Collector, local municipality silent abou the encroachments? – Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad

Sambhajinagar: The Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad had filed an enquiry regarding ‘State Protected Monuments’ under the RTI Act. The answers revealed some shocking information. According to written information received from the Assistant Director of Archeology Department, 33 state protected monuments in Sambhajinagar have been encroached upon. This reply also mentions that the Archeology Department has informed the local administration, police administration, collector’s office about this and issued notices to all the encroachers including the Waqf Board; however, no action has been taken by the Collector regarding these encroachments.

Was the archeology department sleeping while state protected monuments were being encroached upon? And what were the collector and local municipality officials doing despite the archeology department informing the administration about these encroachments? questioned Mr. Sunil Ghanwat, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh State Organizer of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti. He also demanded that the encroachments on the state protected monuments should be removed immediately. He issued a warning that people will take to the streets if the Collector does not take any action in this regard. He also said that they will lodge a formal complaint with the state Chief Minister regarding this. He was addressing a press conference jointly organized by Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad regarding these encroachments. The founding member of the Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad Advocate Suresh Kulkarni, and Sambhajinagar Coordinator of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti Ms. Priyanka Lone were present.

HH Suresh Kulkarni (of Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad) said that there is large scale encroachment in state protected monuments. Archeology Department is answerable for this. If anyone is trespassing on state protected monuments, doesn’t the state have any rights of administration? The encroachers have become so strong that they are no longer afraid of the government and administration. The entire machinery seems to have turned a blind eye to the situation.

In this press conference, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad also placed the following demands.

1. The Collector must initiate action against unauthorized construction in state protected monuments.

2. The Collector should immediately raze the unauthorized constructions or encroachment in the state protected monuments.

3. The archeology department officials or other relevant officials responsible for these encroachments should be investigated and should be penalised.

4. The State protected monuments which have been encroached upon, should be immediately registered by the Department of Archaeology.

Rampant encroachments on historical monuments raise doubts about the administration’s functioning!