The Lakshadweep administration on Sunday evening demolished a structure being built by the Kavaratti Dweep (village) panchayat on leased land without any prior notice.
“We have already spent about ₹50 lakh to construct the building over 10 cents of land leased by us from a private individual in Kavaratti for launching three projects, a four-wheeler workshop, a marine diesel engine workshop, and a handicraft production and training centre, all approved by the Dweep and district panchayats and the District Planning Committee back in 2019. The construction was nearing completion when on Saturday, a holiday, we received a letter from the Deputy Collector, asking us to urgently furnish the lease agreement, documents authorising the construction, copy of diversion certificate, ownership certificate, possession certificate, and minutes of the meeting that authorised the construction. Today [Sunday] evening, a team came with security and demolished the structure. We were thinking of submitting the documents tomorrow [Monday]. Are they not supposed to follow due procedure before doing such a thing? And, this is being done to a panchayat authority,” T. Abdul Khader, chairman of Kavaratti Dweep (village) panchayat, lamented.
The panchayat members are now thinking of taking on the administration legally.
“What does the incident say of the administration’s plans? Are they even respecting democracy? That they arrive all of a sudden and without even issuing a prior notice demolish a structure built by a panchayat authority with all legal concurrence! It reeks of an individual’s arrogance,” Mr. Khader said.
