MIRZAPUR, July 17: Lack of concrete structures to house the offices of the local administration in the newly created districts and divisions of Uttar Pradesh, has virtually turned the officials into land grabbers.On July 3, in a well-planned operation lasting 30 minutes, a number of district officials along with the police swooped down on the 110-year-old Mirzapur club and converted it into the office of the Divisional Commissioner R C Dwivedi.Mirzapur District Magistrate Sanjai Agarwal cited non-availability of a government building as the sole reason for the occupation. He sought to ensure smooth functioning of the DC's office from the club premises. ``I was told that the club is situated on government land and we decided to make the place the office of the Commissioner,'' Dwivedi said, refusing to elaborate further pleading that the matter was subjudice.Members of the club, mainly carpet exporters, raised a storm over ``state terrorism'' and sent telegrams to concerned authorities in the State and Central Government to highlight ``forcible possession'' of the club by the local administration. Panicky members also filed a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court to free their Club of ``encroachers''.Following the protest, a two-member bench of the High Court on Wednesday pulled up the DM for forcibly using the property and ordered that the place be vacated by July 19.The issue will be raised in the court again on July 30. But this time, if the local administration prepares the right ground for acquiring the land, which they claim was government property, the club members will be back to square one. Till then, however, the DC will have to look for new accommodation.``The club and the land belong to us and today's verdict has proved that it was our property and not of the government,'' Joint Secretary of the club Vijay Ananthakrishnan told The Indian Express on Wednesday.
