Ranchi: Jharkhand high court today, Friday, clamped a stay on the ongoing anti-encroachment drive conducted by the district administration in the HEC area of the capital.The court of Justice Ananda Sen, while hearing a petition filed by the settlers, directed Ranchi deputy commissioner and senior superintendent of police to take no action against the settlers till Dec 31. The court further ordered that the settlers should themselves remove the encroachment within this period of time.A petition was moved before high court by the settlers through advocate Indrajit Sinha stating that no specific dates were given by the authorities to remove the encroachments. The administration had lined up trucks and bulldozers to clear the encroachments along the bypass road on the way to a prominent school in the capital.Sinha pleaded before the court that the administration has not given any time to the settlers to remove their belongings and has acted in a high-handed manner.More so with the oncoming festivals of Dussehra, Diwali and Chhath, it will be difficult for the settlers to move out suddenly.The anti-encroachment drive conducted by the administration on Sept 15 to clear lands belonging to HEC and Railways had sparked massive protests by the settlers. The bypass road was jammed by the protestors, choking traffic in the city for several hours.
