An anti-encroachment drive by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) in Nangal town on Monday has stirred a fresh political controversy. The BJP has alleged that the action was ‘selective and politically motivated,’ while the AAP has termed the demolition ‘illegal.’BBMB officials on Monday demolished, using JCB machines, an extension of a privately owned property in Nangal. The action is significant as it is reportedly the first instance in recent years in which the Board demolished an allegedly illegal extension of an existing building soon after its construction. The Executive Engineer of the BBMB Township Division, Surender Dhiman, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. The Board has not officially commented on the political allegations surrounding the demolition.The action immediately drew a sharp reaction from BJP state vice-president Subhash Sharma, who alleged that a BJP worker’s house had been deliberately targeted.“While massive buildings are coming up illegally on BBMB land in Nangal, the authorities have chosen to turn a blind eye to such encroachments. Yesterday, they demolished an extension of a BJP worker’s house even though it was within his boundary wall. The action appears to have been taken on political grounds,” Sharma alleged.AAP district convenor Sanjeev Gautam, questioned the jurisdiction of the BBMB to carry out the demolition. He claimed that the area fell under the Nangal Municipal Council after the BBMB had handed it over to the local body.“The BBMB did not have the authority to demolish any house. I will personally get the demolished portion reconstructed,” Gautam said.The controversy over the latest demolition comes against the backdrop of a much larger dispute between Nangal residents and the BBMB over properties leased out by the Board several decades ago. The BBMB has recently initiated eviction proceedings against 63 occupants of properties in Nangal township.The eviction proceedings have gained momentum following a Punjab and Haryana High Court order in a case involving two occupants of BBMB properties. The court directed the Punjab Police to assist the BBMB in securing possession of properties against which eviction orders had been passed by the Board’s Estate Officer under the Public Premises Act.Sources said the BBMB has not carried out eviction drive due to lack of cooperation from the local Punjab Police.The issue has caused considerable anxiety among residents of Nangal. The properties were originally leased out during the development of the Bhakra project to accommodate people displaced by the creation of the Gobind Sagar reservoir.Over the decades, many original leaseholders transferred their properties to other individuals or made structural alterations, including converting or modifying buildings used as shops. The BBMB considers several such transfers and alterations to be violations of the original lease conditions and has initiated eviction proceedings.Thousands of residents fearing that the action could eventually affect their homes and commercial establishments.The latest demolition has thus brought the decades old lease dispute back into the political spotlight, with the prospect of further evictions likely to intensify the confrontation between the BBMB, the Punjab Government and Nangal residents especially when the assembly elections in the state were approaching.