Welfare dept properties fall prey to land sharks

Properties of the Delhi government’s Social Welfare Department are falling prey to land sharks and encroachers with its district officials failing to report such incidents on time.

The estate cell of the department has now issued an advisory to all district social welfare officers to effectively perform their duty as “estate officers” and take up the responsibility to protect the department properties and keep them free of encroachment.

 The DSWO have been reminded that they must report encroachment to police at the earliest and then inform the social welfare director. “It has been observed that notwithstanding duties clearly mentioned...the DSWOs are not adhering to the same and that results in encroachment and other property damages,” said a note issued by a Deputy Director (Estate).

 In view of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s direction to the department to ramp up its public oriented services, the officials have started a campaign of auditing all its immovable assets, said an official.

“In many cases, the properties of the department were reported to be under encroachment, limiting resources for expanding the existing services being offered from premises,” said the official.

The CM’s Office has told Social Welfare Minister Sandeep Kumar to take corrective measures to free government land of encroachment. To reclaim its encroached properties and to check such developments in future, the Estate Cell has told district social welfare officers that they  “shall be primarily responsible to protect the Department estate falling in their respective districts and keep it free from any kind of illegal encroachment”.

Deputy Director (Estate) S K Tyagi has also directed DSWOs “to visit land allotted to Department in their jurisdiction atleast once a month and furnish a monthly certificate to the Social Welfare Director to the effect that the properties in their jurisdiction is free from encroachment”.

A fresh districtwise list of department properties has also been issued to all DSWOs.
 “If any encroachment is found then DSWOs shall directly contact all the law enforcing agencies concerned to prevent any encroachment on public land under intimation to the director, social welfare as well as estate branch at headquarters,” said an advisory issued by the estate cell.

The social welfare department has set up 10 district offices, headed by a DSWO. The officers are responsible for supervising the functioning of welfare homes for social security and old age care and implementation of various programmes for the inmates.