Crackdown on land grabbings will continue: Jaya

Tuticorin (TN), Oct 13: Alleging largescale land grabbing during the previous DMK regime, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today (Oct 13) asserted that her government would continue its crackdown on those involved in such acts.

Campaigning for the AIADMK candidates here for the next week civic elections, she said during the assembly polls she had promised to restore grabbed land to the rightful owners as encroachments had taken place on a large scale during the previous DMK regime.

"Land worth over Rs 625 crore has been retrieved. Over 17,000 complaints have been received and 755 encroachers arrested (since AIADMK came to power in May)," she said.

Canvassing votes for AIADMK Mayoral candidate for Tuticorin corporation Sasikala Pushpa, Jayalalithaa said all legal steps would be taken in connection with landgrab cases.

She said special police cells had been formed in all districts and 25 special courts set up to deal with the cases.

A number of senior DMK leaders including former Minsters Veerapandi S Arumugam, K N Nehru, K Ponmudi, J Anbazhagan MLA are facing land grabbing charges.

Reiterating that her government was working on "war-footing," to address the power shortage, she said power cuts were gradually coming down and assured to turn the state power cut-free by next year.

PTI