Authorities extend deadline for eviction till May six

Gangtok, May 1 (UNI) The authorities have extended the deadline for voluntary eviction of people living illegally on the reserve forest land on the banks of Rangpo Khola till May six.

District Collector of East R Telang under whose jurisdiction the area falls said earlier the last date for the eviction was April 29 but the deadline was extended following requests from some people of the area.

However, he said action would be taken against those staying in the area after May 6.

Mr Telang said the district administration issued showcause notice to the encroachers on April 17 and 18 but they failed to produce valid documents to substantiate their claims of ownership over the land during the hearing.

He said the district administration initiated the action to comply with the Supreme Court judgement that directed the authorities to remove all encroachers from the reserve forest land.

The collector claimed that while some of the people staying in the area had already vacated, others were in the process of leaving.

However, the people staying in the area said they would prefer death to eviction.

Mr C Sharma, resident of the area, said, ''We have been staying here for more than 35 years. Where would we go now. We will kill ourselves if the authorities use any force to remove us''.

The District Collector meanwhile ruled out any rehabilitation package for the people. He said, ''We are not displacing any one but trying to evict the encroachers. The government has no scheme for the rehabilitation of encroachers''.

Meanwhile, some of the affected people met local MLA S Poudyal and requested him to present their views before the authorities on their behalf.

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