FOREST and Cooperation Minister Kedar Kashyap on Monday dismissed the allegations levelled by the Congress over village Nakti issue as baseless, misleading and politically motivated, accusing the opposition party of attempting to tarnish image of State Government by spreading lies and confusion among the public. Addressing a press conference at the BJP office, Ekatma Parisar, Kashyap said the Congress was trying to gain political mileage by concealing facts and misleading people, but the citizens of the State were well aware of the truth. He said that the process of allocating the land at the centre of the controversy had begun on September 1, 2020, during the Congress government. Revenue records, he claimed, clearly showed that the land had been proposed for allotment to the Housing Board. Following the identification of the land, illegal encroachments increased from nearly three hectares to around 15 hectares. Kashyap said that the district administration had consistently acted within the legal framework and made repeated efforts to rehabilitate and resettle the encroachers through consensus. He maintained that the administration had handled the matter with sensitivity while ensuring rehabilitation of the affected families. Rejecting the Congress’s allegation that Nakti village had been completely demolished, the minister clarified that action was taken only in one of the village’s 17 wards where illegal encroachments existed on government land.

 

Kashyap further accused the Congress of pursuing as divisive politics. Drawing a comparison with the previous Congress government, Kashyap alleged that around 150 families had been evicted from Serikhedi village during the tenure of the Bhupesh Baghel government without rehabilitation or alternative housing. In contrast, he said, the Vishnu Deo Sai government had provided houses to the affected families in Naya Raipur, handed over the keys to the new homes and ensured their dignified relocation. He alleged that the Congress was now trying to provoke the very people who had been provided housing by the government. Reiterating the government’s commitment, Kashyap said no poor person, farmer or needy individual would be allowed to face injustice. Responding to allegations that an MLA colony would be developed on the land, Kashyap termed the claim completely false. He said that no final decision regarding the use of the land had been taken and that it remained under the Revenue Department. Any future utilisation, he added, would be decided in accordance with rules by the Housing Board and the competent authorities. The Minister also claimed that the necessary administrative approvals and No Objection Certificates for the land allocation process had been granted during the Congress government’s tenure between 2020 and 2022, when encroachments had also expanded. He accused the opposition of hiding these facts while attempting to mislead the public.