MP Barla’s building complex on PWD plot: Jalpaiguri DM

Jalpaiguri: The district administration on Wednesday said the plot of

land

at Banerhat’s Chamurchi More where Union minister of state for minority affairs John Barla was building a commercial complex belonged to the state public works department. While

Jalpaiguri

DM Moumita Godara Basu said the district would write to the

PWD

about it, Barla declined to comment.

The administration is also planning to serve a show-cause notice on the authorities of Lakhipara tea estate, where Barla has allegedly managed to construct a three-storey house despite the garden being a leased-out property. Barla, a BJP

MP

from Alipurduar, is a “labourer” at the estate in Banerhat.

“The plot on which John Barla has built his house at Lakhipara tea estate is actually leased out by the state government to the garden management. No one can build anything on that land. We will serve the garden management with a show-cause notice. We are checking the lease deeds. Once we get the management’s reply, we will start legal proceedings. Besides, we will inform the PWD about the land at Chamurchi More,” DM Basu said.

The Trinamool Congress has already lodged a complaint. “The MP has occupied government land at Chamurchi More and also at Lakhipara tea garden. The administration should immediately pull down the constructions,” said district party president Krishna Kumar Kalyani.

State BJP vice-president Dipen Pramanik, who had accused the Trinamool of political vendetta on Tuesday, refused to comment “without checking facts”.