Authorities in Raipur demolished 77 houses during an anti-encroachment drive in Nakti village under the Dharsinwa development block earlier this week, clearing nearly nine hectares of land that the administration identified as government property near Swami Vivekananda Airport. The action, carried out jointly by the revenue department and the Raipur Municipal Corporation, sparked protests as residents attempted to prevent bulldozers from entering the site, claiming many of the demolished structures had been built under government housing schemes. 
According to government officials, the land had been under illegal occupation for a prolonged period and was cleared following legal proceedings. The administration stated that notices had been issued to all occupants in accordance with due process, including final eviction notices before the demolition exercise commenced. 
Hundreds of police personnel were deployed during the operation launched early in the morning. Residents, including several women, reportedly stood in front of bulldozers in an effort to halt the demolition, while some sat in front of the machinery. Officials alleged that a section of the protesters also threw stones at police personnel. Visuals from the site showed women carrying children as they watched their homes being demolished. 
Residents disputed the administration's claims, maintaining that the land is classified as 'Shamilat Charagah' (common grazing land) and belongs to their forefathers. They said around 30 of the demolished houses had been constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), while two others had been built under the erstwhile Indira Awas Yojana. 
Villager Vishnu Prasad said approximately 30 PMAY houses and two Indira Awas houses had been demolished. He maintained that his family had lived on the land for eight generations and that their ancestors' names continued to appear in official land records. He further alleged that local political leaders had earlier assured residents that no houses would be demolished. Although the administration had spoken about rehabilitation, residents said they had not received adequate information and had been forced to keep their belongings in open fields or wherever space was available. 
Another resident, Revati Pal, alleged that she had received a PMAY house less than six months ago, but it was demolished before she could fully occupy it. She claimed she had received only INR 1 lakh against the sanctioned INR 1.20 lakh and had borrowed an additional INR 2–2.5 lakh to complete construction, leaving her family without shelter. 
Some villagers alleged that the land was being cleared for a proposed legislators' colony, a claim the administration has not confirmed. 
The administration said rehabilitation had been arranged for affected families at Sector-30 in Nava Raipur, where accommodation, food, drinking water, medical facilities, ambulances and doctors had been provided. Goods vehicles were deployed to transport residents' belongings, while buses were arranged to shift displaced families to the rehabilitation site. 
Dharsinwa BJP MLA Anuj Sharma stated that no deserving family had been treated unfairly and that all displaced residents were being rehabilitated. He added that those removed from the encroached land had already been allotted houses in Sector-30 of Nava Raipur. Sharma also said the authorities would examine how beneficiaries had received houses under government schemes on encroached land and cautioned that people should not be misled. 
The dispute has continued since eviction orders were issued by the tehsildar's court in April. According to the eviction notices, Khasra No. 460, measuring approximately 15.4790 hectares (around 38 acres) in Nakti village, had been encroached upon by occupants residing in Nakti Gram Panchayat. Villagers, however, maintained that the land has long been recorded as common grazing land, with ownership linked to their forefathers since 1940. They said around 85 families had gradually settled there over the past 35 to 40 years, with nearly 30 houses built under the PMAY scheme. Residents also pointed out that government agencies had installed electricity infrastructure and provided tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission, arguing that such public investments contradicted the administration's claim that they were illegal occupants. 
Source - PTI