‘Displaced’ Nakti residents give admn 24-hour deadline to address demands

Raipur: The villagers displaced from Nakti village have warned that they would go on strong protest if their demands were not addressed by Friday, by shifting them back to their location and making arrangements for their living.The protesters said they have given the administration time till 11 am on Friday to come up with a concrete response on rehabilitation and housing concerns.The agitation comes days after around 80 houses in Nakti village were demolished to make way for a proposed legislators’ housing colony. The affected families alleged that the rehabilitation houses offered to them in Nava Raipur lacked basic amenities and were too small to accommodate entire families.The demolition has also triggered a political row, with Congress legislators stepping up attacks on the BJP govt. After Congress MLAs Janak Ram Dhruv and Chaturi Nand raised the issue, party MLA Kavita Pran Lahre also wrote to chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai, urging him to halt the project.In her letter, Chaturi Nand said elected representatives were chosen to provide shelter to people, “not snatch it away”, and suggested shifting the proposed legislators’ colony to Nava Raipur, where, she said, adequate govt land was available.

She also sought immediate rehabilitation and adequate compensation for the displaced families.The administration, however, has maintained that the affected families are being rehabilitated in EWS houses in Sector 30 of Nava Raipur and that the allotment process is underway.In an official statement, Chhattisgarh govt said it had initiated the rehabilitation of 65 families affected by the anti-encroachment drive in Nakti village by allotting them permanent houses in Nava Raipur before the demolition of structures on govt land.The eligible families have been temporarily allotted vacant EWS flats under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. The state said the objective was to ensure that no affected family was rendered homeless during the removal of encroachments from govt land.The Housing and Infrastructure Development Board said around 38 acres of govt land at Nakti has been earmarked for development. Of this, nearly 12 acres will be used for a special housing project, while the remaining 26 acres will be developed under the board’s self-financed residential housing scheme.The govt said efforts were also underway to make the flats ready for occupation by installing tube lights, ceiling fans and completing electricity-related works.To oversee the rehabilitation process, the Housing Board has constituted an eight-member committee headed by an additional commissioner. The committee, comprising engineers and estate officials, has been tasked with ensuring transparent allotment and smooth relocation of all eligible beneficiaries.