| Anti encroachment drive must begin from Ministers, MLAs, MPs: Harsh | | |  Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 23: Hailing the intention behind the anti encroachment drive launched by the Governor in the state, Harsh Dev Singh JKNPP Chairman and Former Minister said that the movement would be successful only if the big fish having usurped State and Forest lands worth millions and trillions are evicted by the administration and punished under law before laying their hands upon the poor and the landless.
Not only the encroachers of prime lands needed to be dispossessed and booked for grabbing govt lands but action was also required to be initiated against those officers who facilitated such large scale encroachments in circumvention of laws by colluding with the encroachers. He said that 18 lakhs kanal of govt land could not have been usurped by encroachers in the state without the backing and connivance of rulers with political and other influential persons holding prime lands without any lawful authority.
He strongly condemned the selective eviction of poor, landless people besides bulldozing of the 'rehris' and 'pharis' being operated by poor people to earn their two square meals a day. Pointing towards the Roshini Act enacted in 2005-2006 by the then political govt for realization of targeted revenue of Rs. 25,000 crore by regularization of such un-authorized holdings, Mr. Singh said that merely an amount of Rs. 76 crore was realized with the illegal encroachments still continuing to remain in the possession of the all powerful land mafia. With several top politicians, Ex-Ministers, MLAs, MPs and several bureaucrats having encroached huge tracts of govt lands as revealed in media and through RTI besides through AQs in Assembly, a beginning was required to be made by evicting these mighty and powerful people who had abused their position and authority in the past to loot the state and its resources. He was addressing a massive protest demonstration organized by Panthers Party alongwith Yash Paul Kundal, State President Young Panthers.
Seeking early action and conclusion of eviction proceedings during the currency of Governor Rule itself, Singh said that a white paper should also be issued as to how and why the palatial mansions and commercial hubs constructed on State and Forest lands JDA and Municipality lands in violation of existing laws by politicians and top bureaucrats had been granted immunity from legal and departmental action.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Rajesh Padgotra, Gagan Partap Singh, Khajoor Singh, Karnail Singh, Baldev Singh Mankotia, Rampaul Sharma, Nirmal Kishore, Neeraj Gupta, Partap Singh, Rashpaul Singh, Ajay Sharma, B.D Sharma, Capt. Narotam Singh, Capt. Sultan Singh, Ravinder Jamwal, Naresh Chib, Mohan Lal, Puran Chand, Vikrant Singh, Udhayveer Singh, Mohinder Singh, Rakesh Verma, Vishab Singh, Joginder Singh, Naresh Kumar, Jeevan Sharma besides others. |
|
