K Koushal
Early Times Report
Jammu, June 25: In a glaring example of prevailing lawlessness in Jammu and Kashmir, a group of influential people encroached upon hundreds of kanals of land in Upper Thather, Jammu but neither government nor administration is daring to act against the land mafias.
According to RTI activist Rashu Kanna, the chunk of land in Upper Thather, belonging to over 15 rightful owners, was encroached in the year 2002 and since then he, along with other affected families, ran from pillar to post to get the lands vacated but till date, all their efforts went in vain as from a bureaucrat of Chief Secretary rank to a revenue official like Patwari, everyone hesitate to act against the land mafias having strong backing of political masters in different parties.
One of the land encroacher-Uttam Singh-son of Jalla Singh, according to Kanna, is himself an ex-corporator of Congress Party while the other two are brick-kiln owner and PDD meter reader.
Kanna identified the brick-klin owner as Karan Singh son of Naseeb Singh while the PDD meter-reader has been identified as Surinder Singh.
Surinder Singh, according to the RTI activist is a key person to encroach upon the lands and then sell them to people in connivance with the revenue officials.
Among the revenue officials who changed the revenue records to felicitate the encroachers are then Naib-Tehsildar Jammu Khas-Anil Magotra, then Patwari Upper Thather-Inayatullah who is posted as reader to SDM Jammu North now, then Girdawar Shalo Ram Manyal.
"Over 15 families have purchased land plots out of Khasra number 355 against proper sale deeds in the year 1990 at village Upper Thather but the land mafias along with revenue officials fabricated the land records and shown our lands also falling under Khasra number 373", one of the owners, U K Kaul told Early Times.
He said after the encroachment, they knocked doors of several government officials in the hierarchy of bureaucracy and revenue department but none of them acted against the land mafias.
"In the year 2006, we called on former Chief Secretary Vijay Bakaya and he directed the then Settlement Commissioner Jammu and Kashmir to visit the plots in person and demarcate the lands besides preparing a demarcation report", Koul said, adding, "The demarcation report is awaited till today".
Citing another examples of government's inaction, Koul said, when they (owners of lands) approached then Settlement Commissioner in the year 2007, he, vide his letter number SC/823/PHY/06 dated May 14, 2007 sent complaint to Commissioner Vigilance to enquire into the matter.
"But the Vigilance Commissioner, vide his letter dated May 30 observed that the issue pertain to demarcation of the land and when a specialized agency could not resolve the issue, vigilance enquiry in the matter would yield nothing", Kaul said.
Kaul, along with other families have knocked at the doors of several government officials in the last over a decade but till date, they are awaiting justice.
The aggrieved families, through this newspaper appealed Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Chief Secretary B R Sharma to personally look into the matter to investigate into the matter to vacate the land from encroachers and give it to their rightful owners through a proper channel. |
