The eviction drive announced by the LG administration on January 09, 2023 more or less is going in the desired way despite numerous roadblocks created by identified chaos creators who are dancing on the streets at the behest of powerful land grabbers. Going ahead with eviction of state land from the possesion of influential persons who stole valuable government land by misusing their position, the LG Mr Manoj Sinha has clearly sent a strong mesage that influential and their cohorts who were given unbridled power by the previous regimes will now have to bite the dust in the larger public interest which is dear to his heart. Evidently, this is possible only after scrapping of article 370 which by and large was misused as a shield by the previous dispensations for furthering their personal growth and prosperity.
As a matter of fact, the previous governments in erstwhile J&K state had openly encouraged loot of state and forest land through lands grabbers which include their henchmen, proxies, media persons as well as history sheeters and notorious colonizers. They deserve no mercy and must face the music of law, asserted Mr Sinha on Friday thereby assuring that livelihood and habitation of down and out will not be disturbed. A loaded statement from the Raj Bhawan which is indeed going to accord sleepless nights to high profile land grabbers who are trying their best to instigate the commoners by spreading canards about the honest intentions of the LG administration.
For consumption of general public, as per judgement of J&K High Court the state land under illegal occupation in Jammu division is 1602143 whereas the land under occupation of encroachers in Kashmir is 571210. Several districts including Doda (177551 kanals), Jammu (160358), Kathua (104746), Poonch (129727), Rajouri (396018), Ramban (167521), Reasi (141524), Udhampur (152416), prominently are leading in land grabbing. This reliable data simply shows that when encroachers were occupying state land, the police and revenue officers were enjoying honeymoon holidays. The bureaucracy and government officials are enjoying huge salaries and perks for their acts of omission and commission tantamounting to penal action.
Even this callous attitude of bureaucracy especially the officers of Revenue department is still visible in the ongoing eviction drive wherein till date the details of encroachers are selectively being leaked to befool the people. This has already been pointed by JK Global News as this has led to lot of apprehensions in the minds of gullible people. The list of encroachers includes serving as well as retired bureaucrats, police officers, media houses, politicians, bussinesmen and colonizers turned editors is already with the administration and higher ups in Revenue department need to keep percolate in public domain the details alongwith name from whose possesion the state land has been retrieved. The government should also pursue criminal proceedings against these self styled prominent of society.
In the ongoing anti encroachment drive, the name of one Bansi Lal Gupta has figured today but unfortunately, there is no official press note to indict him. The LG has understood this gameplan of bureaucracy and on Friday reiterated that the details of land grabbers whosoever high and mighty may be put in public domain for sake of transparency as well as dispelling doubts about eviction drive prevailing in the minds of common men. This is a much needed direction and only the time will show whether it will be able move thick skinned babus of Revenue Department who remained hand in glove with the offenders in past.