Nagpur: Offences were registered against three persons engaged by a private steel company having investment plans in Gadchiroli for allegedly operating drone without prior permission in Chamorshi tehsil. They were allegedly surveying the area where the company is looking for land for its proposed project.Gadchiroli, once a Maoist-affected zone, remains a no-flying zone.Land acquisition in the district has been put on hold owing to local opposition, so the villagers who spotted the surveyors were enraged. Following the incident, district collector Avishyat Panda reiterated that all types of land acquisition has been put on hold till the local residents’ whose holdings may be taken over file their objections. The moratorium would last till 90 days, said sources.Villagers apprehended the three individuals after seeing them flying the drones and even manhandled them. The collector warned the locals not to take law in their hand against representatives of any company like in this case.Sources said the company was carrying out survey of land it is likely to be allotted under the pass-through method of state govt. Under this method, govt acquires the land and hands it over as industrial area to the state’s Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), which in turn allots it to the industries on payment of the cost.
