Forest land encroachment: Patna HC summons DM, SP and DFO of Nalanda, Kaimur

PATNA: The Patna high court on Saturday summoned the district magistrates (DM), superintendents of police (SP) and divisional forest officers (DFO) of Nalanda and Kaimur over massive encroachment of forest land in both districts.
The division bench of chief justice MR Shah and justice Ravi Ranjan was hearing a PIL filed by Vikash Chandra alias Guddu Baba in which he had alleged that large chunk of forest lands have been encroached in several districts of Bihar including Nalanda and Kaimur urging the court that it direct the concerned authorities that all these encroachments be removed.
During the hearing, a letter of Nalanda DFO, procured through RTI, was brought in notice of the court by the petitioner in which the officer had expressed inability to remove encroachment from around 1.3 acre of forest land in the district as strong resistance by the encroachers made it impossible to remove and lead to law and order situation.
“State (government) can’t say that there will be problem of law and order. It the state’s responsibility to maintain the rule of law,” the court, irked with the letter, made a verbal remark.
The high court ordered that all the concerned official must physically remain present before the court during next hearing on the issue on Tuesday.