Yahya Hallare

Daijiworld Media Network - Bhatkal (SP)

Bhatkal, Aug 12: The government has sanctioned 19 acres of land near here to government schools and colleges in the taluk which are currently being run in rented buildings, to enable them to have their own buildings. With this, a long-cherished dream of educationists from the taluk stands fulfilled.

Two plots of four acres each in Hebale village have been allotted for Rani Chennamma Residential School and Morarji Residential school in survey No. 402 and 406. Two acres has been given to government PU college, three acres to degree college, and four acres land is given for play ground. Although demand for five acres of land was made for ITI college, only two acres of land has been given to it.

Revenue officials accompanied by police security went to the spot on Wednesday August 10 and conducted survey, duly marking the boundaries. Although efforts had been made in the past to build schools and college buildings in the forest department land at Belake Hadin, the effort did not yield fruit as forest department was stubborn in sanctioning land. Therefore, previous deputy commissioner of the district, Ujwal Ghosh, who studied the land conversion details here, found that almost half of government land at Hebale has been encroached upon and sold to others. He planned to use this land for educational institutions and got necessary permission from the government.

Farmers who are conducting farming in the said land at present expressed resentment at the fact that they had applied for transferring these lands in their names, but the revenue officials have snatched away their lands before the applications are disposed of. They held this as illegal, noted that this area falls under Coastal Regulatory Zone norms, and that they do not have anywhere to go if their land is forcibly taken away. They said they already had brought the issue to the notice of revenue minister, Kagodu Thimmappa.

Tahsildar, V N Badkar, said that the government land at Hebale has been sanctioned by the government for building schools and college buildings and that survey work and marking of boundaries has been completed. He added that these institutions are now free to build their buildings at these sites.