The Jalpaiguri district administration has launched a drive to demolish unauthorised constructions of private properties, mostly resorts, which have come up on government land in three blocks.

In the past three to four days, the authorities demolished boundary walls and other constructions of 30-odd resorts in Rajganj, Matiali and Kranti blocks. The owners of 10 other resorts have themselves pulled down illegal structures.

“We are conducting a survey across the district to detect the encroachments on government land. Almost 70 per cent of the survey has been carried out and once it is found that there is an encroachment, we serve a notice on the party concerned,” Jalpaiguri district magistrate Shama Parveen said.

According to her, the encroachers are being asked to vacate the government land on their own within a timeline. “Our teams are visiting specific locations and if they find that the land has not been vacated before the stipulated date, they dismantle the constructions,” she added.

The drive was initiated after chief minister Mamata Banerjee had openly expressed disgruntlement over the indiscriminate encroachment on government land, especially in some parts of the Jalpaiguri district.

According to administrative sources, at least 15 resorts have come up on government land in and around Gajoldoba of Rajganj block. Bhorer Alo, the largest tourism hub developed by the state government, is in Gajoldoba.

“We have demolished the boundary walls of around 15 such properties. Some of the dismantled structures are concrete, while others are wooden cottages,” said an official of the district administration.

In the Kranti and Matiali blocks, which cover Lataguri, the most popular tourist destination in the western Dooars, and its surrounding places like Kumlai, the administration has found that a section of resort owners, who built the properties on private land, encroached on portions of government land also.

“During the survey, it was found that the resort owners made passages, roads, did a bit of landscaping or developed kids’ zones on patches of government land, which are close to their plots,” said an official.

While some resort owners have vacated the government plots, which include those of the state forest department, on their own, the administration carried out the anti-encroachment drive at some other locations.

“The administration had served me a notice. I immediately got my land measured and vacated the portion of government vest land I possessed,” said Nikhil Sikdar, who runs a resort in Kumlai.

In Kumlai, land encroached on by eight private resorts has been vacated.

Mahua Gope, the Jalpaiguri district Trinamool Congress president, said the party was extending its cooperation to the administration.

Gope, who is also a member of Jalpaiguri zilla parishad from Kranti, said: “The drive is going on according to the specific instructions of the chief minister. On several occasions, I was present during the drive.”

Representatives of the Lataguri Resort Owners’ Welfare Association said the administration had also served a notice on them.

“We prepared a list of the resorts and held a meeting with the administration. The administration provided time and most of those who had encroached on government land vacated it,” said Dibyendu Deb, an executive member of the association.