Additional Chief Secretary Om Prakash on Friday directed the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) vice chairman Ashish Shrivastava to inform encroachers that if they are found encroaching again at sites after demolition or demarcation of encroachments, action will be taken against them under section 26 A of Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning Act. There is provision for up to two years jail and Rs 50,000 penalty under this section of the Act. Chairing a meet of the anti-encroachment task force, the additional chief secretary called for expediting the work and setting a target of 500 reverification of demarcations per day.

On the second day of anti-encroachment drive 14 encroachments were demolished and reverification of demarcation was carried out on 288 sites and 43 encroachemnts were marked. The ACS said that the number of vehicles in the Dehradun city is rising consistently and that the traffic situation would worsen if the encroachments are not removed. He also asked the officers from different departments working in the task force to coordinate with each other. He said that strict actions will be taken against those who were found to be negligent in work.

It is pertinent to mention here that during the demarcation procedure near Swami Dayanand Saraswati (Rispana) Bridge on Friday, several people questioned the work that was being done. Some citizens could also be heard point out that the authorities should also focus on the degraded condition of the open roadside drains that continue to pose an accident risk.