Reclaiming land: Abbottabad authority seizes 200 kanals from encroachers

ABBOTTABAD:

The district administration of Abbottabad launched an anti-encroachment drive on Tuesday and reclaimed 200 kanals of illegally occupied government property. According to officials within the district administration, 35 shops were also demolished in the process.

Havelian police said certain influential people had been illegally occupying a plot measuring 217 kanals (one kanal is equal to approximately 505 square metres) in Bandi Atai Khan for the past eight years.

“The occupants who had political influence constructed over 35 makeshift shops on the property and had been collecting rent without paying any tax to the government,” said a police official. Upon the directives of the provincial government, Abbottabad district administration launched an operation against the encroachers, demolished their shops and handed over the land to the Housing Development Department.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2013.