Manasa (Neemuch): With state assembly elections around close corners, both Congress and BJP are leaving no stone unturned to ensure maximum voter support. Both parties are raising voters’ plight at different forums, even involving dispute with government officials and one such event was witnessed at Bhadana village of Neemuch district where BJP MLA Mandhav Maroo got involved into a heated argument with the officials and employees of the forest department when they came to the village to evacuate some of the villagers as they claimed the land belongs to the forest department.
MLA Maroo did not stop here and even called the district collector and said that the law and order situation will get disturbed. A video of the entire incident went viral.
Maroo said that he is always there with arms for the benefit of the villagers. Let's see who has the guts to come forward. If that was not enough, some of the local Congress leaders when they came to know about the incident, rushed to the village and assured villagers that they will take matter to the former Chief Minister and state Congress president Kamal Nath.
According to information, after the land of Gandhi Sagar came under submergence, some villagers got displaced from there and settled in Bhadana village of Manasa development block. Villagers claimed that they are living here since long and now the forest department is claiming that the land belongs to them.
On late Sunday evening, around 100 officers and employees of the forest department reached Bhadana village. MLA Maroo also rushed to the spot. He got involved in an argument with the forest department officer and suddenly became furious. He called up the senior officials and ministers of the forest department including the district collector as well.
MLA Maroo angrily said that why the officials of the forest department did not bring higher officials of the revenue department along with them as the map brought by them is not unacceptable. He accused that the forest department is deliberately encroaching on the land of the villagers.
During this, the MLA lashed out at the present officer, sub- divisional forest officer RR Parmar and other officers and employees. After which the forest department returned empty handed.
After the video went viral on social media, MLA Maroo when contacted said that without any information, the staff of the forest department had come to remove the encroachment which is wrong. So I reached the spot and had discussion with the forest department.
On his statement about weapons, MLA Maroo said that there is nothing wrong in taking up arms in the interest of the general public. I am a public servant and always stand with the public. The forest department staff did not give information about the action taken to any public representative, nor to the district collector and administrative officers, which is against the rule, he added.
When contacted Congress leader Mangesh Sanghai said that they had first reached the spot as soon as they got the information. On reaching there, he found that the forest department was taking action without demarcation of revenue department land and it should not be in the cognisance of the MLA. This is not possible if we did not take action then the villagers there would have been evicted from their lands and we will not let this happen. We are standing with those people and will not allow injustice to be done to them.
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