Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government came under attack from Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and BSP chief Mayawati on Friday over the demolition of homes of Dalits on forest land in Sagar district.
“The atrocities of BJP government on Dalits in Madhya Pradesh is at its peak. Houses of 10 Dalit families were demolished in Sagar. The families who had gone to work as labourers, their entire household was destroyed without information. Houses built under PM Awas Yojana were also razed,” Priyanka tweeted.
“In the arrogance of power, BJP has forgotten that the work of the government is not to uproot people, but to settle them. The people of Madhya Pradesh will teach a lesson to the BJP government which perpetrated atrocities on Dalits, tribals and the poor,” the AICC general secretary added.
BSP supremo Mayawati, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister tweeted: “The destructive and malicious bulldozer politics of the Madhya Pradesh government, which demolished people’s homes and schools, has now started demolishing the houses of the poor built under PM Awas Yojana. This is highly condemnable. The destruction of houses of seven Dalit families, built under the PM scheme in Sagar district, is shameful.”
The forest officer who led the demolition drive in Raipura village has been suspended, triggering protests by forest officials. Raipura is in Surkhi assembly constituency, which is represented by minister for revenue Govind Singh Rajput.
According to district officials, seven PMAY homes were razed on Wednesday afternoon as they were built on forest land. Notices had been issued a year ago, they said, adding that the administration took action on seeing new construction activities. The administration said it will provide land deeds (patta) to rehabilitate the affected families.
Former CM Digvijaya Singh staged a protest in Sagar on Thursday at the site and demanded compensation for the affected families.
“We had a discussion with the district collector, SP and DFO in which they admitted that the ranger committed a mistake and he has been suspended,” Digvijaya said. “There were no instructions to demolish houses where people were living. That is why, this was a mistake. The victims whose homes have been demolished will be given residential plots and the administration will construct their houses,” he said.
Courtesy : TOI
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