A slum in Paradip’s Lockpada area. Telegraph picture

Paradip, March 28: The port town has turned into safe haven for encroachers and unlawful settlers because of the slipshod attitude of the Paradip Municipality and Paradip Port Trust (PPT) authorities.

The sprouting up of unauthorised human settlements here has become the order of the day, pushing the bustling port town into a veritable paradise for illegal settlers.

Notices to evict the unlawful settlers have been served under Section 266 of the Orissa Municipality Act and the Orissa Prevention of Land Encroachment Act. But nothing has so far been done to keep the industrial hub encroachment-free, allege the residents of Paradip.

“A regulatory mechanism to check land encroachment is virtually absent here. The beauty of this pristine coastal town is being ravaged gradually, as the PPT authorities remain busy celebrating their year-long golden jubilee programmes,” said Jyoti Ranjan Tripathy, a civil rights activist.

Instances of land encroachment at Atharbanki, Lockpada and water reservoir area of Paradip are too glaring to escape notice. Eviction drives were undertaken in these areas in the past. But fresh settlements have come up just a few days after illegal settlers were evicted. Of late, hundreds of dwelling units have sprouted up in these localities.

“Most of these dwelling units have come up by the side of the water reservoir pond that supplies drinking water to the township. Hygiene has taken a backseat as the waterbody is being polluted by the slumdwellers,” he added.

“On March last year, notices were served to evict about 400 families living in Sandhakuda slums. People living in this encroached zone would be evicted shortly. We are trying to clear off the illegal settlements in a phased manner,” said Sarojkanta Choudhury, additional district magistrate (ADM), Paradip.

“The municipality officials are verifying the places where unlawful permanent constructions have come up. Unlawful constructions would be demolished and encroachers would be punished under Section 266 of the Orissa Municipality Act,” said Surath Mallick, executive officer of the municipality.

The bustling port town is shouldering the burden of over 60,000 migrant people living unlawfully in slum clusters.

“Paradip is besieged with illegal slum settlements. We have carried out eviction drives from time to time to keep the town encroachment-free. Besides, PPT has undertaken measures to rehabilitate settlers of unauthorised slums under humanitarian consideration,” said PPT secretary Pravat Kumar Nanda.

“As the major port is observing its year-long golden jubilee of its inception, PPT would undertake exercise to evict more people who have settled down here. It is also on the agenda to rehabilitate some of the slum residents who are engaged as casual labourers in the port and nearby industrial units,” Nanda added.