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| Officials snatching land from us, handing it over to influential, allege Pahalgam residents | | | Saahil Suhail
Early Times Report
Anantnag, Sept 23: Pahalgam residents on Thursday alleged that officials at a famed tourist spot were snatching land from locals and then handing over to influential people ‘mysteriously’.
“We have been cultivating this land for the last eight decades. Our parents and grandparents too have cultivated this land for livelihood needs and the forest department had served us notices from last many years as the land is purely forest land but since last month officials here at Pahalgam are telling us to surrender the land and handover it to some who they claim is the owner of the land,” Bilal Ahmad, whose family is cultivating the land since decades told Early Times.
Bilal said that he was being pressured to negotiate with the influential man. “They offered me money and share in this land but I told them that land is purely forest land and the department installed a board in this land as well, while boundary pillars are very much visible,” he said.
His family members staged a protest and said they would prefer to die instead of surrendering the land.
“We have been cultivating this land for decades and we aren’t going to surrender it,” they said while seeking the intervention of LG Manoj Sinha.
The residents said that previously another resident surrendered the land to the Forest Department he had been cultivating for decades as the department served him notices.
“Forest Department took over the land and installed a board on the front side of the land but after a few days some people came and removed the board. They installed a tent inside the land but the Forest Department didn’t act,” they said, alleging a nexus between the occupants, Revenue and Forest Department.
RTI Activist, Mushtaq Pahalgami told Early Times that the 60-C Gazette which Revenue Department is quoting has been issued in 1944 and the department doesn’t have enough documents like maps and Shajra to support the claims.
“I have filled applications under RTI Act and tried to go deep into this issue. The Forest Department says that they don’t recognize this 60-C Order.
The Forest Demarcation Department says that the land along the Ganeshbal road is demarcated forest land while the Revenue Department isn’t sharing the documents related to this order with us,” he said.
Pahalgami said that according to the Forest Protection Act, no forest land can be used for non-forestry act so people are being allowed to grab forest land at Pahalgam.
“We have approached the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and we are ready to take it to the National Green Tribunal,” he added. |
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