Squatters evicted by the district administration on Tuesday promptly returned to the government land they were occupying in Khaasmahal area of Parsudih less than 24 hours later, leaving steel city authorities in a quandary over its next step.

Dozens of encroachers from the adjoining slums like Jharkhand Nagar, Kitadih and Karandih fixed tents on Tuesday itself and started rebuilding their huts overnight. On Wednesday morning, more and more encroachers turned up at the troubled spot. They started demarcating areas to set up home and even arranged a community feast at the site, a 10-acre expanse of land belonging to the state government.

But no action was taken by the district administration through the day.

On Tuesday, Dhalbhum SDO Nitesh Kumar Singh accompanied others, including over 100 policemen, evicted squatters from the area.

Singh, while returning from the operation, had instructed the Parsudih officer-in-charge Rajendra Prashad Das to keep a close watch on the place. Obviously, the police let their guard down. “I am at the Parsudih thana and I do not know whether anyone has returned to encroach the government land,” Das told this correspondent when told about the encroachments.

DSP (law and order) Muhammad Akram, who looks after Parsudih thana, was incommunicado as his cellphone was switched off.

Amit Shrivastav, circle officer of Jamshedpur, confirmed that government land at Khaasmahal had been encroached upon again by over 200 people. “Now the district administration is chalking out a plan which will be executed to evict the encroachers once again. The administration will also ensure that government land in question remains free from encroachment,” he told The Telegraph Online.