The Dhanbad district administration has identified two acres of allegedly encroached government land in the Combined Building area for public infrastructure projects, while directing 10 families occupying road construction department quarters to vacate the premises after Chhath Puja.
The findings were made during a survey conducted on Friday to identify government land under illegal occupation in Dhanbad. The exercise was carried out on the directions of deputy commissioner Aditya Ranjan, with circle officer Ram Pravesh Kumar overseeing the local action.
According to Kumar, the identified plot is intended for projects including a town hall, a sports ground and a library. Notices will be served on the owners of structures found on the land after the demarcation process is completed, he said.
The survey also found two houses allegedly constructed on government land. The administration has not disclosed the identities of the occupants or owners, nor has it specified whether the structures will be removed immediately after the notices are issued.
Kumar directed the 10 families living in quarters belonging to the road construction department to vacate the premises after Chhath Puja. The quarters are government-owned accommodation linked to the department, and their occupation formed part of the administration’s wider review of public land and government properties.
The action is part of an anti-encroachment drive intended to reclaim public land and make it available for development projects. In urban areas, such land is often important for civic facilities because public institutions require suitably located plots for community infrastructure, although the administration’s statement did not provide details of the proposed projects’ design, financing or construction timelines.
The demarcation process will establish the boundaries of the two-acre plot before notices are issued to the owners of the structures identified during the survey. The administration has also not announced a tender, construction schedule or implementing agency for the proposed town hall, sports ground and library.
The next steps are the completion of land demarcation, service of notices and the planned vacation of the road construction department quarters after Chhath Puja. Further action will depend on the administration’s land records, the notice process and subsequent decisions on reclaiming the identified government land.
